A Montana judge sentenced Shania Rose O’Brien to prison after prosecutors said she ran over 23-year-old Austin Nieves during a July 3, 2023, fireworks night in Butte, then fled on foot and did not contact police until the next afternoon as Nieves lay dying in the street.
The case, centered on a chaotic holiday tradition in the old mining town, ended this week with a sentence that fell between what prosecutors and defense attorneys urged. O’Brien, 23, pleaded guilty to felony failure to render aid in an accident involving death. District Judge Mike Salvagni imposed seven years in the Montana Women’s Prison, with five years suspended, meaning O’Brien is to serve two years in custody and then remain under court conditions after release. The court also ordered her to pay more than $22,000 in restitution to Nieves’ family.
Authorities said the crash happened at about 11 p.m. on July 3, 2023, in Uptown Butte, as residents and visitors celebrated with fireworks. Nieves and his younger brother, Connor Nieves, 21, were in the middle of Granite Street lighting fireworks when a Jeep Wrangler driven by O’Brien struck them. Prosecutors said Austin Nieves was completely run over. He was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead about a half-hour later. Connor Nieves survived with injuries described by officials as minor.
In court, prosecutors described a scene that turned from noisy celebration to panic in seconds. They said O’Brien did not stop to check on the men or call for help. Instead, they said, she kept driving, then left the vehicle and ran. Prosecutor Jessica Best told the court O’Brien’s actions after the crash were driven by self-preservation, not concern for the injured. “She crushed a man to death, left him to die alone, and in that moment and the moments following, his life didn’t matter,” Best said during arguments about sentencing.
KULR reported that two female friends were passengers in O’Brien’s Jeep that night. One friend told police she begged O’Brien to stop because she had hit someone, and another friend backed up that account. Prosecutors said O’Brien drove to an area near the local mining museum, parked, and then she and her passengers left on foot. According to court records described in local reports, O’Brien and her passengers were later picked up by O’Brien’s father.
O’Brien did not go to police that night. She turned herself in the following afternoon, arriving at the police station around 1 p.m. with her father and legal counsel, according to accounts presented in court. That delay became a central issue for the state and also shaped what charges prosecutors said they could prove. Prosecutors initially filed multiple felonies, including a vehicular homicide charge tied to impairment. In the plea deal, those more serious counts were dismissed, and O’Brien pleaded guilty to failure to render aid.
Prosecutors said they lacked the evidence needed to prove vehicular homicide under the influence, in part because O’Brien left the scene and did not report her involvement until the next day, after she had time to sober up. Local reports said investigators believed O’Brien had been drinking earlier and had smoked marijuana before driving that night. Court documents summarized in local coverage also said she was seen drinking and smoking marijuana at a concert at the Original Mine Yard and later at a house party on Granite Street before the collision.
Salvagni said O’Brien’s decision to flee deserved punishment, even as he noted she appeared to be taking steps toward a better path since the crash. “The defendant’s conduct in failing to stop on July 3, 2023, to render aid and provide necessary information to law enforcement was reprehensible,” Salvagni said from the bench, according to local coverage. He told a packed courtroom that the grief and anger of those who loved Nieves was made worse by the knowledge that the driver ran after hitting him. The judge said he hoped the family and friends of the victim could someday find peace and comfort.
The sentencing followed a long hearing that stretched over two days in the Butte-Silver Bow courthouse. Reporters described an unusually detailed proceeding, with prosecutors playing surveillance video showing the moment O’Brien’s Jeep hit the two men and presenting police interviews with the passengers. Family members and loved ones also testified, turning the hearing into an emotional accounting of who Austin Nieves was and what the loss has meant.
Austin Nieves’ parents, Pedro Nieves and Stacey Edwards, spoke after the hearing and said no sentence could restore what their family lost. They told reporters they believed more serious charges should have stayed in the case, but also acknowledged the limits of what the justice system could do. “It’s hard, we don’t have family functions like we used to,” Pedro Nieves said, describing how the death changed everyday life. Edwards said she spends her days working on a memorial near where her son was killed and visiting his grave. “I’m there twice a day if not more,” she said through tears, calling him a “good boy” with a future.
In another interview after sentencing, Austin’s father, Pete Nieves, said the family viewed the outcome as justice but “hollow justice.” He said they felt sympathy for O’Brien’s relatives while also stressing the difference between the two families’ futures. “She’s still alive, and our son is gone,” he said.
Prosecutors asked the judge for a sentence of 10 years with five years suspended, emphasizing the decision to flee and the ripple effect of sending first responders and family members into a scene without the driver’s help. Defense attorney Palmer Hoovestal argued for a five-year deferred sentence, asking the judge to focus on O’Brien’s remorse and the life she had started to build since the crash.
During the hearing, O’Brien apologized directly to the Nieves family. “I’m really terribly sorry for this accident,” she said, according to accounts read in court coverage. She said she was sorry for leaving the scene and acknowledged the pain her actions caused. Her voice broke at times, reporters said, as she told the family she could not fully understand what they were going through.
The case also drew attention because of the timing and location. July 3 in Butte is known for loud, crowded celebration that often includes fireworks in streets near the Montana Tech campus. In court, family members said Austin Nieves died near a familiar stretch of West Granite Street, and his parents said they are now focused on building a memorial there. Local coverage described an existing remembrance at the site, including a bench and a gathering place for friends and relatives who still return to honor him.
Prosecutors from the Montana Attorney General’s Office took over the case as it moved toward resolution, with attorney Ed Hirsch and Best leading arguments at the sentencing. Salvagni, a retired judge from Gallatin County, was appointed to oversee the proceedings after the case developed into a high-profile dispute over charging decisions and punishment. The victim’s family publicly criticized the plea agreement that removed the most serious counts, while prosecutors said they made the decision based on evidence issues that would have made it difficult to secure a conviction on an impairment homicide charge.
Even with the reduced charge, the judge had broad discretion within the maximum sentence for failing to render aid in a fatal crash. The court record described in local reports said the count carried a potential sentence of up to 10 years. Salvagni’s decision to impose seven years with five suspended placed O’Brien in prison immediately while also keeping years of suspended time that could be enforced if she violates court conditions after release.
After Salvagni announced the sentence, O’Brien hugged family members as she cried softly, according to reporters in the courtroom. Within minutes, officers placed her in handcuffs and took her into custody to begin serving the two-year prison portion of the sentence. The restitution order, totaling more than $22,000, was also entered, aimed at reimbursing costs borne by the victim’s family.
The case leaves a community still arguing about responsibility during a night when fireworks and traffic mix in narrow streets. For the Nieves family, the sentence marked a legal endpoint but not a personal one. They described a young man who was loved, who had milestones ahead of him, and who did not get the chance to reach them because a driver did not stop. For prosecutors, the hearing was an effort to underline that leaving the scene was not a minor decision, but one that, in their view, showed a choice to protect oneself while another person was dying.
O’Brien’s case is not expected to return to trial because of the guilty plea, but it is still subject to the normal post-sentencing process. The court’s suspended time and supervision terms will follow her once she leaves prison. Meanwhile, the memorial on Granite Street continues to grow, and family members say they intend to keep Austin Nieves’ name in the public eye as they grieve.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 13, 2026.