Guilty pleas entered in deadly crash

COEUR d’ALENE ­— A Priest River man pleaded guilty Monday to killing a Bonner County man and injuring three others while driving drunk on U.S. Highway 95 last spring.

First District Judge Scott Wayman accepted Cory Allan Kreager’s pleas as being entered knowingly and voluntarily and ordered a presentence investigation, which judges use to determine a sentence in a criminal matter.

Kreager, 36, faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 10. He is free on a $150,000 surety bond while the case is pending.

Idaho state Police said Kreager was eastbound on Boekel Road when he failed to heed a stop sign at the road’s intersection with U.S. 95. Kreager’s Ford F-350 pickup truck collided with a Dodge Caravan on the highway on March 10.

The crash killed Ryan M. Allen, a 38-year-old from Cocolalla, state police said. The collision seriously injured driver Vern Allen, 51; passenger Patricia C. Allen, 71; and passenger Troy V. Allen, also 51.

Kreager was charged with vehicular manslaughter at the felony level, in addition to three counts of aggravated driving under the influence, which are also felony offenses.

Patricia Allen was a featured speaker during a kickoff event held by the North Idaho DUI Task Force last month in Coeur d’Alene. It was learned during the presentation that Ryan Allen was wheelchair bound after being injured by a drunken driver in a prior crash.

Kreager, according to a probable cause affidavit, told police he was distracted by his mobile phone and didn’t see the stop sign at the highway intersection. His breath-alcohol concentration was measured at 0.13, which is well above the legal limit to drive of 0.08.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.