A Boise man whose 4-year-old stepdaughter died after he crashed his SUV into Lucky Peak Reservoir has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

David Leroy Persons, 31, was arrested Tuesday at his home in Boise. Investigators say he was drunk and driving his 1998 Subaru Forester too fast with a suspended license when he lost control on Arrowrock Road Aug. 9.

Persons, his wife, their infant son and his wife's 8-year-old daughter escaped the SUV as it was perched about 70 feet above the water.

"It just slid the rest of the way after the dad, the mom and the two kids got out," said Dale Rogers, chief deputy with the Boise County Sheriff's Office.

Pearl Sittner was pronounced dead after being under water for more than an hour. Persons and his wife had approached the water but couldn't get to the SUV; they flagged down a passing motorist for help, who used an emergency phone at a park to call for help.

Persons' blood-alcohol level was .087, Rogers said. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Results of a blood sample taken from Persons' for drug testing have not yet been returned, Rogers said.

Person's intoxication, coupled with his excessive speed and suspended license, justify the manslaughter charge, Rogers said.

Persons, who is in the Ada County Jail on a $20,000 bond, also is charged with driving under the influence and driving without privileges. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in Idaho.