Hayden man jailed for fatal crash

COEUR d’ALENE — A Hayden man who pleaded guilty to causing a head-on crash that killed a family will serve time in jail and may be ordered to pay support for the surviving children of the victims.

Matthew D. Martin, 39, pleaded guilty in August to four counts of vehicular manslaughter, all misdemeanors. 

Idaho law defines manslaughter as the unlawful killing of a human being, including a fetus, without malice. When the operation of a motor vehicle is a significant cause contributing to the death because of “an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, without gross negligence,” the act constitutes a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail. 

Last year, a grand jury indicted Martin on the charges, which stemmed from the night of Nov. 18, 2022. 

Martin was driving northbound on U.S. 95 near Milepost 423 in Kootenai County in a Ford F550. He left the northbound lanes and traveled into the southbound lanes, according to the Idaho State Police, and collided head-on with a Subaru Legacy. 

The driver of the Subaru was a 30-year-old Post Falls woman, who was pregnant. Also in the vehicle were her husband, 32, and her mother, 62. All occupants of the Subaru died at the scene. 

Before Martin received his sentence, a surviving family member addressed the court. She described her grief for her mother, sister, brother-in-law and the baby boy the couple was expecting. 

“It is hard enough to lose one loved one, but to lose four at once is unbearable,” she said. 

She said the fatal crash destroyed her life and made her family’s existence hellish. 

“I want justice,” she told the court. “I do not now, nor will I ever, forgive you for what you did to my family.” 

The exact cause of the crash remains unclear. Kootenai County prosecuting attorney Stan Mortensen said Martin gave conflicting explanations of what happened that night, including that he was looking at his phone and that he was having a medical event. 

Defense counsel said blood tests showed that Martin had neither drugs nor alcohol in his system and phone records indicate he wasn’t using his phone at the time of the crash. He wasn’t speeding, his attorney said. 

“I would like to offer the family an apology,” Martin said in court. “I don’t know that any words I can say would mean anything. If I could take it back, I would. I can say sorry all day. It doesn’t change anything.” 

First District Judge Ross Pittman called the crash a “nightmare scenario.” He noted that alcohol, drugs and speed were not factors in the crash, though he said he believes the incident was preventable. 

“The evidence showed something occurred that caused you to leave your lane of travel,” he said to Martin. “That action resulted in unthinkable tragedy — the deaths of four people.” 

Pittman sentenced Martin to four years in jail, one for each count of vehicular manslaughter, to be served consecutively. Pittman ordered Martin to spend 30 days in jail and suspended the rest of the sentence. Martin will spend four years on probation after his release. 

The sentence was made in accordance with a Rule 11 plea agreement, which is a deal in which a defendant pleads guilty to a certain charge in exchange for a specific sentence. 

In most cases, judges consider sentence recommendations made by the parties involved in a case but can hand down whatever sentence they believe is appropriate. Under a Rule 11 agreement, however, judges are bound to the agreement made by the state and defense. A judge can accept or reject a Rule 11 agreement but can’t alter it. 

Prosecutors said the victims’ surviving family participated in the mediation. 

“The state and victims of this case have struggled with this,” Mortensen said. “This is a good resolution in that it eliminates the risk at trial of not being convicted at all.” 

Attorneys indicated they will address the possibility of child support for four surviving children during a future proceeding. In cases of manslaughter resulting in the death of a parent of minor children, Idaho law allows the court to order the offender to pay support for each minor child until the child reaches the age of 18.