Gazette Staff
Dec 18, 2020
The Yellowstone County DUI Task Force added two names to a plaque Thursday afternoon, recognizing people who have lost their lives to impaired drivers in the county.
The names of Haley Hutzenbiler and Gary Elmo Phelan, Sr. were added to the plaque in a small, limited-capacity ceremony at the Yellowstone County Courthouse. Hutzenbiler was killed by a drunk driver in 2018, and Phelan, who was killed by an impaired driver in 1998, was finally recognized in the ceremony after being listed as unknown until this year.
Following the Angel Tree Ceremony, awards of merit were handed out to law enforcement officers from multiple agencies in the county. Trooper Brennan Plucker of Montana Highway Patrol, county attorney Victoria Callender, Sgt. Harrison Gillen of the Yellowstone County Sheriff s Office, Officer Eric Schnelback of the Billings Police Department and Officer Jackson Booth of the Laurel Police Department were all recognized for their c