Ada sheriff’s deputy crashed into a pregnant woman’s car, tort claim says
An Ada County Sheriff’s deputy slammed into a car driven by a pregnant woman, injuring her, the woman said in a tort claim.
The deputy, Vishal Sahni, was driving south on Idaho Center Boulevard on the morning of April 23 when he stopped at the intersection with Franklin Road. The deputy “failed to see oncoming traffic” and turned left in front of a red Honda Civic driven by a Nampa woman, according to the claim.
The Nampa woman, Alyssa VanPaepeghem, braked, but the cars still crashed.
Sahni was cited in April for turning left and failing to yield, according to online court records.
VanPaepeghem suffered chest, wrist, knee and back pain, along with recurring migraines and concussion-like symptoms, according to the claim, which the Idaho Statesman obtained through a public-records request. When she gave birth a few months later, her baby was breech, which means its head wasn’t first to emerge.
Her injuries prevented her from performing baby-flipping exercises and she ended up having a c-section, the claim said. There are some exercises people can try to get the baby to turn around before birth, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Her baby is OK, said Kurt Holzer, partner at Hepworth Holzer, the firm that filed the claim.
“She couldn’t do something that she wanted to do for her child,” Holzer said. “It’s a pretty straightforward claim.”
VanPaepeghem is seeking damages of $100,000.
Ada County sheriff’s spokesperson Emily Walker declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
A tort claim is a civil claim made against a state or local government for a wrongful or negligent act. Under Idaho law, a tort claim must be filed with that government to allow it a chance to answer before being sued, though not all plaintiffs follow up unanswered claims by suing.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 11:17 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version version of this story incorrectly identified Vishal Sahni’s job title.
