Idaho Father Faces Manslaughter Charges After Phone Use Led to Fatal Crash Killing 7-Year-Old Son

A Meridian, Idaho father now faces felony manslaughter and injury to a child charges after investigators determined he was actively using his phone—browsing Instagram, Amazon, and composing social media posts—in the minutes before a high-speed collision that killed his 7-year-old son. Court documents obtained by authorities show the driver was distracted by his mobile device when he rear-ended a disabled truck traveling at significantly reduced speed on Interstate 84.

The Collision and Investigation

On November 25, Austin Summers, 31, was driving a black GMC Sierra truck eastbound on Interstate 84 in Canyon County when he struck a white Ford F450 box truck that was experiencing mechanical problems and moving at approximately 7 miles per hour. Summers' vehicle was traveling between 73 and 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone at the moment of impact. His eldest son, Graham, was seated in the front passenger seat and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two younger children, ages 3 and 5 at the time, were in the rear of the truck and sustained no injuries.

Idaho State Police investigators concluded that reckless driving was the primary cause of the crash, while the mechanical failure of the vehicle ahead was deemed secondary. The driver of the disabled truck, who was 21 years old, was uninjured in the collision. Summers required surgery for his own injuries sustained in the crash.

Phone Records Reveal Distracted Driving

Evidence presented in court documents shows Summers was using his mobile phone between 2:45 p.m. and 3:02 p.m.—minutes before the 3:04 p.m. collision. During this window, he scrolled through Instagram, viewed pictures on the platform, browsed Amazon's shopping catalog, photographed another crash site on the roadway, and drafted an Instagram story that read "Avoid th freeway heading." He also sent a text message to the mother of his children stating "Stick in traffic." At 3:03 p.m.—one minute before emergency services were called—Summers viewed an Instagram photograph. Investigators determined that the driver did not recognize that the vehicle ahead was nearly stationary.

Summers initially cooperated with police and agreed to provide phone data, but later withdrew his consent, prompting investigators to obtain a search warrant to access his mobile records. A urine sample collected following the crash tested positive for cocaine and opiates, according to court filings.

Charges and Timeline

Summers was arrested after a warrant was issued and turned himself in to the Canyon County Sheriff's Office. He now faces felony vehicular manslaughter and felony injury to a child charges. The charges came more than nine months after the November incident. Following his hospitalization, Summers told police he remembered "screaming to save his son" after the crash occurred. Summers and the mother of his children are separated.