VALLEY COUNTY, Idaho — A Meridian father facing felony charges in the 2025 crash that killed his 7-year-old son is now facing a separate misdemeanor charge in Valley County after posting bond in the original case.
Court records show Austin Summers was charged on Aug. 31 with failure to stop for a damage accident, which is a misdemeanor. The new charge came less than two weeks after Summers posted a $250,000 surety bond on Aug. 18 in his Canyon County case.
Details about what led to the new charge were not immediately available.
Summers was previously charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of felony injury to a child in Canyon County in connection with the I-84 crash that killed his 7-year-old son in November of 2025.
A judge reduced Summers' bond from $500,000 to $250,000 on Aug. 18 after hearing arguments from prosecutors and the defense.
According to court documents in the manslaughter case, investigators say Summers was traveling between 73 and 75 mph in a 65 mph zone when his GMC struck the back of a Ford F-450 that had lost engine power and was traveling slowly in the right lane. Investigators also said cellphone data showed Summers' phone was being used in the minutes before the crash.
READ MORE | 'That will haunt me forever': Court docs reveal details in case against father charged in deadly I-84 crash
Summers is scheduled to be arraigned on the Valley County misdemeanor charge on Sept. 15. He is expected back in Canyon County for a hearing in the vehicular manslaughter case on Sept. 10.
This story has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
