3 days Ago
A man charged with killing two people in a car accident Friday night during a police pursuit has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and partner family member assault in relation to the initial disturbance that brought police to the scene. Ricki Buckhanan has also been charged with two counts of negligent homicide, four counts of criminal endangerment and obstructing a peace officer, according to a press release from the Billings Police Department. The police pursuit of Buckhanan was the fourth to occur within a week .
It was the second of the three to involve a traffic fatality . It was also the second to follow a domestic incident . At around 7 p.
m. on Friday, BPD officers responded to a disturbance in a parking lot at the intersection of Broadwater and 29th Street West. Police approached the suspect, later identified as Buckhanan, who fled in a vehicle, according to the police report.
He headed east on Broadwater Avenue at a high rate of speed before allegedly striking a northbound vehicle at the intersection of 24th Street West. Both vehicles then struck a third vehicle that was waiting at the light. The northbound vehicle had two passengers, both of whom were killed in the wreck.
The four passengers in the third vehicle were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Buckhanan attempted to run from the crash but was caught by police. He is currently in custody at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.
Local officials have been raising awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence in Billings since proposing the creation of a Family Justice Center almost a year ago . Domestic violence accounted for 59% of violent crime in Billings between 2018 and 2023, average over 1,000 cases per year, according to the Billings Police Department. This story will be updated.
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