Man charged in drunken, fatal crash into East Helena home arraigned after posting bond
The man charged with crashing into an East Helena home, killing a woman, appeared in court Tuesday in street clothes, having posted a $500,000 surety bond earlier this month.
The man accused of crashing into an East Helena home while he was fleeing police and allegedly intoxicated last month was arraigned in Lewis and Clark County District Court on Tuesday morning on four felony charges.
The crash occurred about 11:30 p.m. at Lake Helena Drive and Old Highway 12, the MHP said.
William Bart Stuart of Helena was arraigned on counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence; negligent vehicular assault with serious bodily injury; criminal endangerment; and fleeing from a peace officer while operating a motor vehicle and causing death.
He appeared in court in street clothes, having posted a $500,000 surety bond on Dec. 3. Under his conditions of release, Stuart must wear a 24/7 alcohol monitoring device, cannot enter bars or drive and cannot leave Lewis and Clark County, according to court documents.
William Bart Stuart grabs a chair during his arraignment Dec. 16, 2025, before Standing Master Hannah Roe in Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Michael McMahon's courtroom.
Judge Michael McMahon will preside over the case; the court entered not guilty pleas on Stuart’s behalf on Tuesday morning.
Stuart, 52 at the time he was charged, is accused of fleeing a stop by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper late at night on Nov. 22 off Canyon Ferry Road. After allegedly reaching 115 miles per hour in his car during the chase, he is accused of crashing into a home near the intersection at Lake Helena Drive and East Main Street.
Witnesses told investigators speeds during the pursuit reached 115 mph and that Stuart had consumed 14-15 mixed drinks before driving.
A man and a woman were found inside a bathroom connected to the bedroom Stuart is accused of crashing into. The woman, identified as 69-year-old Terry Lamping, was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the 76-year-old man was hospitalized with what police said were “extensive injuries.” Authorities said they believe the two were pushed into the bathroom from the bedroom during the impact.
A GoFundMe started for Lamping’s family had raised $32,260 of the $35,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.
“On November 22, 2025, we lost Terry Lamping in an unimaginable accident that has left everyone who knew her heartbroken and shaken,” the posting by Melissa Boice reads.
A witness said they saw the vehicle “fly” into the home between 50 and 70 mph. Stuart’s arrest affidavit states a person who had been with Stuart in the vehicle before the chase started told officers they believed Stuart had 14 or 15 drinks at Lakeside before driving.
Stuart, represented by a public defender, told the presiding judge Tuesday he understood the charges against him. Should his case go to trial, that would begin on May 18.
A driver crashed his vehicle into this home in the 3700 block of East Main Street in East Helena late Nov. 22, 2025, resulting in the death of an occupant of the home, authorities said.
Blair Miller is a reporter for the Helena Independent Record. Prior to that, he was the editor of the Montana State News Bureau, a reporter at the Daily Montanan and reporter, editor and photojournalist at news outlets in Denver, Albuquerque and mid-Missouri.