When Brandon Darrah appeared before a judge Monday afternoon on his fifth drunken driving charge, a puffy blackened eye was the only indication that he'd driven his Ford Taurus off a 300-foot embankment over the weekend.

Numerous other alcohol-related blemishes checker the 24-year-old Missoula man's criminal record, however, including a previous felony DUI conviction that was resolved just nine days prior to Friday night's wreck.

Emergency medics and a Montana Highway Patrol officer had to rappel down from an "extremely steep" embankment on Deer Creek Road to reach Darrah's totaled car, according to records. Tire tracks in the dirt road indicate that Darrah drove over an earthen berm near mile marker 5 and plunged off the edge of the road.

Passersby reported the accident, but when authorities reached the wreckage nobody was inside the car. The Taurus had rolled down the embankment multiple times before striking a tree, and there was blood spatter in the snow nearby.

Authorities caught up with Darrah a short time later at his home. His blood alcohol concentration registered at .182, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

In addition to the drunken driving offense, Darrah faces charges of driving with a suspended license, failure to carry proof of insurance and failure to give notice of an accident, all misdemeanors.

Prosecutors also intend to file a petition to revoke his previous sentence, a suspended prison term that a Missoula District Court judge handed down on Nov. 4.

"Within two weeks, he's out drinking and driving again," said Deputy Missoula County Attorney Betty Wing during Monday's hearing in Missoula County Justice Court. "He drove off of a steep embankment, rolled his vehicle several times and ended up making it home. I think he's a danger to the public because he will not stop drinking and driving."

Darrah remains jailed on a $25,000 bail for the new charges, which runs consecutive to an additional $25,000 bail set by the judge in the previous case; Darrah violated the conditions of that sentence by allegedly drinking and driving again.

If convicted of the new charges and the petition to revoke the old sentence, Darrah could go to the Montana State Prison for up to 10 years.

Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.