A 61-year-old Helena man who was convicted of negligent homicide for a 1995 crash that killed a 15-year-old girl and seriously injured another faces two new felony charges for allegedly driving under the influence and crashing into a house.

Norman Charles Slead appeared in Justice Court Friday on a felony count of DUI and felony criminal endangerment.

Slead is accused of driving while drunk Thursday night and crashing into a home on the 3600 block of Pelican Road in the northeast Helena Valley, causing about $25,000 worth of damage.

Slead was released from custody after posting $100,000 bond.

The homeowner called authorities at about 9:45 p.m. to report that a pickup had struck his home. People were in the home at the time at the wreck, but no one was injured. Slead also wasn't hurt.

According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Havron, Slead went through the intersection at Lincoln Road East and Hauser Dam Road and struck the three-story home. Speed was not a factor in the crash, he said.

Havron said he wasn't sure how fast Slead was traveling when he hit the residence.

The trooper noted in court documents that he immediately noticed the odor of alcohol coming from Slead, who admitted to drinking prior to the crash.

A preliminary breath test showed Slead had a blood alcohol content of .20, according to the documents, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.

Slead was convicted of one count of negligent homicide and one count of negligent vehicular assault stemming from a Nov. 5, 1995, wreck that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Melissa Poepping. Slead's Cadillac crashed head-on into a car in which Poepping was a passenger. Another 15-year-old girl, who was driving the car, received serious injuries.

The 1995 wreck occurred when Slead's vehicle entered the eastbound lanes of Highway 12 heading west about one mile west of East Helena and crashed into the teen's car, which was traveling in the proper lane.

Slead, who was driving while intoxicated, was sentenced to 10 years to the Montana Department of Corrections with five years suspended for the negligent homicide charge and one year to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center for the negligent vehicular assault charge.

He had completed his sentence and was no longer under the supervision of the state Corrections Department at the time of Thursday's crash.

Previous to the 1995 charges, Slead was convicted of a DUI charge in Helena City Court in 1989.

Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com