Kreager sentenced for fatal DUI crash

COEUR d’ALENE ­— A Priest River man was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in prison, 10 of which must be served, for killing a Bonner County man and injuring three others in a crash on Highway 95 in March. Cory Allan Kreager, 36, appeared was sentenced in 1st District Court in Kootenai County on Monday after pleading guilty to the charges in July.

Idaho State Police said Kreager was eastbound on Boekel Road on March 10 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.

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 this summer 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.