Coroner IDs 66-year-old Boise pedestrian killed by alleged drunken driver
The Ada County Coroner’s Office has identified the pedestrian who was killed on State Street when struck by a vehicle, allegedly operated by a drunken driver.
Donald Priddy was walking on the sidewalk Sunday night along State Street near 23rd Street when a 49-year-old Caldwell man drove off the road and hit him, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Boise Police Officer Hayli Talbot.
Priddy, of Boise, died at the scene from “traumatic blunt force injuries,” according to the Ada County Coroner’s Office. He was 66.
The driver, William Sweet, was charged with vehicular manslaughter after law enforcement administered a breath alcohol concentration test, which showed he was over the legal limit of .08%, according to the affidavit. Sweet also smelled strongly of alcohol and had slurred speech, bloodshot, glassy eyes and impaired memory, Talbot wrote in the affidavit.
If Sweet is convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. He’s in custody at the Ada County Jail on a $350,000 bond, according to online court and jail records. His next hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 14 at the Ada County Courthouse.
Sunday’s crash was the latest incident in a string of fatal pedestrian-vehicle crashes throughout the Treasure Valley.
In September, a 58-year-old woman was killed in a parking lot near The Village in Meridian, and a 45-year-old man died from “complications of multiple blunt force injuries” in October a week after he was struck by a vehicle in Caldwell.
More recently, an 8-year-old girl died after she was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Harrison Boulevard, prompting reduced speed limits. And in December, a 78-year-old man died after he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing a street in Meridian.
