Coroner identifies Boise woman killed in crash after driver ran red light in DUI case
Officials released the name of the woman killed in a Meridian car crash over the weekend.
A woman died after Emily Minow, 42, of Meridian, drove through a red light at 3:14 p.m. Saturday and hit another vehicle at the intersection of North Locust Grove and East Franklin roads in Meridian while allegedly under the influence, according to a criminal complaint. One person died and three others were injured in the collision.
The Ada County coroner on Tuesday identified the deceased victim as Erma Mays, 78, of Boise. Mays was a passenger in the vehicle hit by Minow.
Emergency responders took Mays to Saint Alphonsus in Boise after the accident, where she was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. Saturday in the emergency room after lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, the coroner’s office said in a news release.
The coroner listed Mays’ cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries and the manner of death as accidental.
The three others in the vehicle with Mays sustained “significant injuries,” including broken bones, bruising, contusions and blood loss, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney Tamera Kelly said at Minow’s arraignment.
The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office charged Minow with one count of felony vehicular manslaughter and three felony aggravated DUIs.
Meridian police believe Minow was under the influence of illegal drugs, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Test results to determine if substances were in Minow’s system at the time of the incident were still pending Monday, according to Kelly.
“When law enforcement contacted the defendant, she was disheveled,” Kelly said in court. “She was acting in an erratic and emotional manner. She exhibited slurred speech, poor memory, drooping facial expressions, and had a dry mouth with a white substance on the top. She also displayed an apparent lack of pain associated with a significant injury she had sustained and an apparent lack of comprehension as to the severity of the situation that was before her.”
Minow previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for driving under the influence in 2011 and 2017.
Ada County Magistrate Judge Michael Lojack set bail at $1 million.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
