‘Possibly’ drunken driver crashes in Boise, causing police standoff, road closure
Law enforcement responded to calls of a “possibly intoxicated driver” on Thursday afternoon, and it led to a brief police standoff and a major intersection closure after a crash.
At about 4:30 p.m., the Boise Police Department received reports of a “reckless” driver on the Connector, and that motorist later crashed his pickup truck, which was severely damaged, at the corner of Myrtle and 11th streets downtown, according to a police statement from spokesperson Haley Williams.
Police, including troopers from the Idaho State Police, responded and closed Myrtle Street at the intersection, causing traffic to back up on the Interstate 184 Connector into the city. The driver refused to exit the vehicle, according to police. After multiple attempts to speak with him, police deployed a drone to observe the scene.
The release said police eventually deployed pepper-ball rounds into the vehicle “to encourage the subject to safely exit the vehicle,” but he continued to refuse. Officers finally were able to take the man into custody without further incident at about 5:40 p.m., according to police.
Myrtle was closed at the 11th Street intersection for about two hours, police said. Some lanes of Myrtle reopened by 7 p.m., but traffic was still heavy in that area, according to BPD. While all of Myrtle was closed, traffic backed up for miles on the Connector, which ends at 13th Street and turns into Myrtle heading east.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, Williams said.
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM.
