PIERRE (AP) -- A Faith man has pleaded not guilty to charges including vehicular homicide stemming from a crash in which a Pierre woman was killed.
Sixty-three-year-old Walt Taton faces alternate counts of vehicular battery along with drunken driving and a misdemeanor charge of driving on the wrong side of the road.
Authorities allege that the vehicle Taton was driving on state Highway 34 near Hayes on April 28 collided head-on with a car, killing 28-year-old Heather Unser. She was a passenger in the car.
According to media reports, prosecutors want Taton treated as a habitual offender because he has multiple drunken driving convictions. That could increase any prison time if he is convicted.
Judge Mark Barnett doubled Taton's $50,000 bond, saying Taton poses a danger to the public.
