This article was originally published by Jacob Scholl in the Idaho Statesman.
A Meridian man will spend less than a month in jail after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a 2018 car crash that killed two people in Canyon County.
Thomas Hunt, 21, pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide. He was sentenced the same day to 10 days in jail, as well as four years of supervised probation, according to a news release from Canyon County spokesperson Joe Decker.
Hunt’s driver’s license will be suspended for a year and he will have to pay $1,000 in fines. Hunt also has been ordered to complete 600 hours of community service and enroll in a driving safety program.
The 19-year-old was arrested in January, well over a year after a crash on July 28, 2018, that killed Makaiya Lucas, 17, and Zachary Newman, 18.
Police say Hunt was driving northbound on Robinson Road when he ran a stop sign and collided with a vehicle heading east on Kuna Road. Both Newman and Lucas were ejected from the car and later pronounced dead at the scene. Two others in Hunt’s car were injured in the crash, as well as four people inside the other vehicle.
Hunt was later charged with only misdemeanors after investigators found that he applied the brakes before hitting the other car.
Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said in a news release that Hunt has taken full responsibility for the crash and he hopes Hunt will take this experience and educate others on the dangers of distracted driving.
“This was a tragic incident that claimed the lives of two of Mr. Hunt’s young friends and forever changed the lives of so many others,” Taylor said in the release. “This is something that Mr. Hunt will have to live with for the rest of his life.”
