Driver charged after he allegedly hit 14-year-old boy crossing the street
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IDAHO FALLS — A 59-year-old local man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly hit a 14-year-old boy with his vehicle while crossing an intersection.
Kennith Ernest Whiteside was charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of an injury.
According to court documents, on Sunday, at approximately 8 p.m., an officer was dispatched to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after a report was made to dispatch of a pedestrian versus vehicle incident.
The area where the incident occurred was at the corner of Elm Street and South Boulevard, near the roundabout, where the victim’s mother told officers her 14-year-old son was hit by a car.
The boy told the officer that he was in the middle of the crosswalk when he was struck by the car.
While the boy sustained minor injuries, the document states that the boy had lost consciousness and woke up in the grassy area near the crosswalk.
The boy told officers that the car’s occupants then dropped him off a few blocks from his home, but he did not get their names.
The officer located a car matching the 14-year-old’s description and spoke with the driver, identified as Whiteside.
The document states that when speaking with the officer, Whiteside had initially denied being the driver who had struck the 14-year-old, but later admitted the offense to the officer after hearing what information had been gathered.
Whiteside is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Wiley Dennert for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1.
Though Whiteside has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, and a year of suspension for driving.