HELENA - A 32-year-old East Helena man charged in a crash that left a Helena couple dead is expected to change his plea.

Travis Fuqua pleaded not guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence after a June 24 crash that killed 35-year-old Karl Pentecost and 37-year-old Charmon Rene Pentecost. But defense attorneys on Wednesday asked that Fuqua's December trial be canceled and that a change-of-plea hearing be set for Jan. 6

The Montana Highway Patrol said Fuqua was trying to make a left turn from U.S. Highway 12 east of East Helena when his pickup truck crashed into an oncoming motorcycle being ridden by the Pentecosts. The couple, who had two young children, died at the scene.

After Fuqua was released on bail in October, he was arrested on a charge of driving drunk after he crashed his girlfriend's car into a ditch. He remains in custody on $300,000 bail on the more serious charges.