Boise teen charged with vehicular manslaughter after July crash that killed 7-year-old
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Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A Boise teenager who reportedly fatally struck a 7-year-old bicyclist with his pickup truck in July now faces a misdemeanor charge in connection with the crash.
Conner Brant, 18, was booked into the Ada County Jail on Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. The charge indicates that a driver acted without gross negligence. If convicted, Brant could face up to a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
According to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, 7-year-old Eduard Prokopchuk was riding his bike with two other children on the north side of Amity Road east of the Cloverdale Road intersection at around 7:30 p.m. on July 18. Brant was driving west on Amity in a pickup truck when he struck Prokopchuk, authorities said. Another boy sustained minor injuries in the crash.
Prokopchuk died of his injuries the following day.
“(Brant) told deputies around the time of the impact he was looking at his radio,” Ada County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Patrick Orr said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Our investigation indicated he was focusing on something inside the cab of his pickup around the time of impact.”
According to initial reports, Brant immediately stopped his vehicle, returned to the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators after the incident.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.