Felony DUI rap dismissed

SANDPOINT — A Missouri man accused of injuring a passenger in a drunken rollover crash involving a utility terrain vehicle could be getting off scot-free.

The felony driving under the influence case against Alexander Robert Bieg was dismissed last month. Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon moved to dismiss the case because an unidentified witness critical to the state’s case is unavailable, court records indicate.

First District Judge Benjamin Simpson approved the state’s motion on Feb. 22.  The case was dismissed without prejudice, which means the state retains the right to re-file it.

Bieg, a 24-year-old from St. Louis, was charged with aggravated DUI resulting in great bodily harm following a UTV crash in Laclede last May. Bieg allegedly cornered too sharply, causing the vehicle to overturn on its passenger side, which injured a 22-year-old occupant.

First responders to the scene of the crash feared the woman’s arm injury was serious enough to warrant partial amputation, although Idaho State Police later said the woman was spared that fate.

Bieg pleaded not guilty to the charge, which set the stage for a jury trial in 1st District Court this spring.