Canadian cyclist Cameron Jaeger was killed while riding in Montana when Darlene R. Severin, 46, hit him while driving drunk. Severin was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 20 years suspended, after emotional testimonies in court. On April 27, 2024, Severin was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.233—nearly three times the legal limit—near Clancy, Montana. She was speeding at 125 km/h in an 80 km/h zone and failed to brake until 0.06 seconds before the collision. Despite her nursing and military background, she fled the scene without helping and was later apprehended by police.
His mother has written an open letter to politicians as “Bobby’s Law” will be presented to the Montana House of Representatives on Tuesday. The bill is named after Bobby Dewbre, who was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the road to his sober ride on his 21st birthday in Columbia Falls, Mont. The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.20, more than twice the legal limit.
The bill calls for stricter penalties for drunk drivers. It proposes a new crime, aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence, with prison terms of 3 to 30 years and fines ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Sentences would be mandatory for offenders with a BAC over 0.16.
Below is the letter from Sandy Jaeger, printed with her permission.
An open letter from Sandy Jaeger
Dear Representative Bertoglio,
On the eve of the presentation of Bobby’s Law on the Montana House floor, I write to you as the anguished and broken mother of Cameron Jaeger, who was killed near Clancy, Montana, last April.
Our 36-year-old Canadian son loved coming to Montana from Alberta with friends to spend time with his cousin and his family in Clancy. He was a confident and proficient outdoorsman, having grown up in a park ranger family in the Rockies outside of Calgary. Cam was a skilled professional geologist, managing multi-million dollar projects in the Crowsnest Pass for Teck Mines. He was a phenomenal rock and ice climber, fisherman, hunter, cross-country skier, competitive varsity swimmer, dog handler, and woodcarver.
He served six seasons as an Alberta Wildland firefighter during his university days, a vitally important role, especially in light of what we are seeing in your neighboring state of California right now. While Cam lived an adventurous lifestyle, traveling and exploring across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and South America, his ultimate goal on all trips and with his friends and firefighting…
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