Coroner IDs 78-year-old man killed after being hit by pickup truck in Meridian
A 78-year-old man died Tuesday evening after he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing a street in Meridian, according to a news release from the Meridian Police Department.
According to the release, the man, identified by the Ada County Coroner’s Office as Meridian resident Richard Fletcher, was crossing Fairview Avenue at or near 5th Street when he was struck by a GMC Sierra driven eastbound on Fairview.
Police said they were called to the scene at around 7:30 p.m. and found witnesses and passersby rendering first aid to Fletcher. They said the driver of the GMC, also a 78-year-old man, remained at the scene and cooperated with police.
Fletcher’s cause of death was listed in a coroner’s news release as multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death listed as an accident.
The Meridian Police Department Crash Reconstruction Team is investigating. Police said Fletcher appeared to be using a walker device while crossing the street and noted that lighting conditions were low and it was unclear which direction Fletcher was traveling in and whether he was in an unmarked crosswalk.
Police said the outcome of the investigation will determine “whether either party could have reasonably avoided the crash,” which will in turn determine if criminal charges are warranted.
The death is the latest in a string of fatal pedestrian-vehicle crashes in the Treasure Valley in recent months, including one that killed a 58-year-old woman in a parking lot near the Village shopping center in Meridian in September, another that killed a 45-year-old man in Caldwell in October and a third that killed an 8-year-old girl on Harrison Boulevard in Boise in November.
This story was originally published December 24, 2025 at 9:51 AM.
