Gillette woman given suspended sentence for possession

A Gillette woman has been given a suspended sentence on charges related to an incident in which methamphetamine was found in her vehicle when she crashed on the interstate near Sundance.

On May 8, 2021, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was notified of a single-vehicle crash on I-90. He arrived on scene to find a vehicle with heavy front end damage pinned against the guardrail.

According to the trooper’s report, the driver was being rendered first aid by a passing motorist. The trooper assisted by placing a bandage on the driver’s arm, where she had a deep laceration.

A witness stated that, when she had arrived on scene, she observed the driver partially hanging out the passenger side window. The trooper attempted to ascertain what had happened, but the driver reportedly said she did not know.

The driver, later identified as Sidney Schurger, was transported to the hospital in Sundance and eventually LifeFlighted to Rapid City.

Documenting the scene, the trooper observed tire marks in the dirt median that indicated the vehicle had left the roadway on a straight stretch going downhill. There were allegedly no signs of braking prior to leaving the roadway, but Schurger appeared to have overcorrected to the right, causing her to leave the road and collide with the guard rail.

Per Wyoming Highway Patrol policy, the trooper began to document the vehicle and its contents. During this process, he allegedly located a box containing a glass pipe with suspected methamphetamine residue, a small bag containing approximately 2.4 grams of suspected methamphetamine, another bag with an unknown brown substance and a suspected crystal methamphetamine rock weighing approximately 1.4 grams.

Schurger was charged with a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence, operation of a motor vehicle without liability insurance and driving within the dividing space of a highway.

As part of a plea agreement, she pled guilty to an amended charge: misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor driving while under the influence.

Judge James Michael Causey sentenced her to a total of 545 days of incarceration, to be suspended pending successful completion of a year of supervised probation.