‘I’m the one that hit it’: Documents detail fatal vehicle-pedestrian collision
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POCATELLO — A man police say was driving drunk when he struck and killed a pedestrian in Pocatello had three previous DUIs.
Darwin Dee Reisner, 64, has been charged with a felony for vehicular manslaughter after a collision that left one person dead, with his blood-alcohol content readings well over the legal limit.
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Pocatello police received a call around 5:45 p.m. Saturday evening reporting a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller told police that the collision occurred near the intersection of South 5th and Jackson Avenues.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a woman, later identified as 36-year-old Rachelle Wallace, in the roadway on South 5th Avenue. Wallace was declared dead at the scene.
Officers spoke with a witness, who said he was sitting at the stop sign near the collision when it occurred, the affidavit says.
The witness told officers that the woman was crossing the street when the vehicle hit her. He said the woman was “launched” into the air and landed roughly 50 feet from the collision area.
Additionally, the witness told police that around 15 to 30 seconds after the initial collision, the woman was hit by another passing vehicle.
Police reports do not indicate whether officers are searching for the driver of the second vehicle.
The witness told police that the driver of the first vehicle, later identified as Reisner, pulled over following the collision.
As officers approached Reisner’s vehicle, he exited and said, “I’m the one that hit it,” the affidavit says.
Reisner was taken to Portneuf Medical Center, where he received treatment for injuries that were not described in police reports. While receiving treatment, Reisner allegedly told officers, “she ran right out in front of me” of Wallace.
At Portneuf, Reisner consented to a blood draw and breath test. A blood sample was taken and breath test administered. According to the affidavit, two tests returned blood-alcohol content readings of .125% and .128%. The legal limit in Idaho is .08%.
Reisner was placed under arrest and taken to Bannock County Jail, where he was booked and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond.
Officers searched Reisner’s car, noting that the hood was dented and the windshield was shattered. Inside the center console, officers found an empty alcohol container, the affidavit shows.
Court records show that Reisner has been found guilty of three previous DUI charges — in 2015 and 2017 in Bannock County and 2020 in Caribou County. He was sentenced to one year in prison for his most recent conviction.
He has not been charged with a DUI in this case.
Though Reisner has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Reisner could face up to 15 years in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court before Magistrate Judge Paul Laggis for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 22.