Drunk Driver Sinks Truck, Kills Rider

⏱ 3 min read

Cade Cleatus Birdinground, 20, is trading Montana skies for federal prison bars after a booze-fueled joyride ended in a watery grave for his passenger. On May 18, 2024, around 4:30 AM, Birdinground drove a truck off Highway 384 near Hardin, plunging into the Big Horn River. Jane Doe, his passenger, didn’t stand a chance.

Montana Highway Patrol found the rig half-submerged, Doe already lifeless on the floorboard. Birdinground, conveniently receiving aid from neighbors, had the keys and the smell of whiskey clinging to him. It didn’t take long to piece together what happened. Witnesses had seen Birdinground driving like a maniac before he blew through a curve and sailed off an 18-foot embankment.

A blood test, taken 90 minutes after the wreck, showed a BAC of .218 – more than twice the legal limit. The autopsy confirmed what everyone on scene suspected: Doe drowned because of the crash, a direct result of Birdinground’s reckless actions.

Birdinground pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. On November 2025, he received a 24-month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. The case was built by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Hendricks, with help from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the FBI, Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, and Montana Highway Patrol.