Chester man sentenced for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter
Published at
BLACKFOOT — Andrew Blanchard of Chester was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty on two counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
For each charge, Judge Cleve Colson sentenced Blanchard to 180 days in jail, with an additional 185 days in suspended jail time. This means Blanchard will spend 360 days in jail, with an additional 365 days of jail time being held in suspension, which could be imposed during his four-year supervised probation sentence.
Blanchard also received a 10-year driver’s license suspension. Blanchard will serve all sentences consecutively.
After his jail term, Blanchard will complete drug court.
RELATED | Chester man found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in Bingham County court
RELATED | Officials release names of both women killed in Bingham County crash
The sentence comes after a double fatality crash on Interstate 15 in March 2023. Blanchard, who was driving a 2001 Lincoln Navigator, had swerved into the southbound lane of traffic and hit a Toyota RAV4 head-on.
The crash killed two victims, 38-year-old Destiny J. Thain of Rexburg and 18-year-old Naomi Hernandez of Meridian.
Thain was a passenger with Blanchard. Hernandez was a passenger in the Toyota RAV4.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families in this case,” said Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jolley.