Documents: Driver in fatal crash was ‘testing out’ what the car could do
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IDAHO FALLS — A vehicular manslaughter defendant has posted a $50,000 bond and has been released from jail.
Officials with the Bonneville County Jail has confirmed that Nicholas R. Perea, 20, was released from jail around 4 p.m. Monday.
Perea was a driver in a two-car crash that killed a 79‐year‐old Idaho Falls woman and an 86‐year‐old Oak Harbor, Washington, woman Saturday.
Perea, of Canyon Lake, California, was arraigned in Bonneville County on Monday afternoon. He was originally charged with reckless driving but during arraignment, Magistrate Judge Mark Riddoch notified Perea that prosecutors have amended the criminal complaint to two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter.
He was taken into custody and booked into the Bonneville County jail on $50,000 bond, he posted bond just hours later.
Court records show that Perea admitted to police that he was driving around 60 mph, but wasn’t sure why he was driving so fast.
A male passenger in the Mazda Miata that Perea was driving told police that he thought they were driving between 60 and 70 mph. That passenger told police that “they were just testing out what the car could do.”
A female passenger in car with Perea, who was sitting on the lap of the male, was treated for facial lacerations. She complained of back pain while paramedics treated her and later at the hospital, she underwent surgery due to a break in her spine.
According to court documents, witness and video evidence indicate that the Buick that Perea hit did not make a complete stop at the 17th Street intersection.
Police said that at the time of Perea’s arrest, he appeared to be very concerned about the wellbeing of others involved in the accident
Perea’s hearing is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 5.
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