Chester man found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in Bingham County court
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BLACKFOOT – Andrew D. Blanchard of Chester was found guilty on two counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter last Friday.
Following a one-day trial, the jury arrived at its decision after deliberating for 17 minutes, according to Bingham County Prosecutor Ryan Jolley.
Blanchard posted a $10,000 bond shortly after his arrest. He is awaiting sentencing out of jail.
The charges stem from a two-vehicle crash in March 2023 at milepost 94 on Interstate 15 about a mile north of the Blackfoot exit.
Destiny J. Thain, 38, of Rexburg, and Naomi Hernandez, 18, of Meridian, were killed in the crash.
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A 41-year-old man from Chester, later identified as Blanchard, was driving a 2001 Lincoln Navigator northbound on Interstate 15. Thain was a passenger in the Navigator.
He reportedly swerved into the southbound lane of traffic and hit a Toyota RAV4 head-on, where Hernandez was also a passenger.
The driver of the RAV4 is the only victim who was wearing a seatbelt, Idaho State Police reported at the time. Both female passengers died at the scene.
Although Blanchard tested positive for having methamphetamine in his blood that day, Jolley tells EastIdahoNews.com there was no evidence of gross negligence or impairment on Blanchard’s part. That’s why it resulted in a misdemeanor rather than a felony charge.
“Under Idaho law, it’s not enough to prove someone has a controlled substance in their blood. You have to be able to prove they’re impaired as a result of that,” Jolley explains. “In this case, none of those ways were met because he was taken to the hospital after the crash.”
Blanchard is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21 at the Bingham County Courthouse. Under Idaho law, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and up to $4,000 in fines.
“My thoughts and prayers go to the victims’ families,” Jolley says.