Meridian, Idaho: Pedestrian, 26, Killed by Mustang While Walking on Interstate 84 Near Ten Mile

A 26-year-old man from Nampa, Idaho, died early Thursday, October 29, after he was struck by a car while walking on Interstate 84 in Meridian, the Idaho State Police said.

The crash happened at about 3:00 a.m. on Interstate 84 at milepost 42, in Meridian. A 2017 Ford Mustang driven by a 20-year-old man from Nampa was traveling eastbound. The 26-year-old man was walking eastbound on Interstate 84 in the lane of travel. The Mustang struck the pedestrian in the lane of travel, and the pedestrian died from his injuries at the scene of the crash, state police said.

Idaho State Police did not release the name of either man in the release, and the release did not say why the pedestrian was on the interstate. Townsquare stations KEZJ and KOOL, repeating the state police account, placed milepost 42 at the Ten Mile Road interchange area, the exit that serves the west side of Meridian in the Boise metro.

Road impact and the investigation

The eastbound onramp at the Ten Mile exit was blocked for approximately three hours while troopers worked the scene, state police said. The crash remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police, District 3, which covers southwestern Idaho from its office in Meridian.

For drivers who use the Ten Mile interchange on the morning commute between Meridian, Nampa and Boise, the closure covered the dark early hours before the ramp reopened. A fatal crash investigation on an interstate lane takes hours because troopers must document the scene, the vehicle and the roadway before the road can fully reopen, and state police asked that questions go to District 3.

What drivers should know

State police have not announced any charge or citation in the crash, and no further details were released in the Thursday morning release. Anyone who was driving eastbound on Interstate 84 near milepost 42 at about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday and saw the pedestrian or the Mustang before the crash can contact Idaho State Police District 3 in Meridian. Pedestrians are not permitted on Idaho interstate lanes, and drivers who see a person on the roadway can report it to dispatch at *ISP (*477), the number state police list for emergencies in the release.

This was a single vehicle and a single pedestrian, with no other injuries reported in the release. The investigation will decide the full sequence of the crash, including the speed of the Mustang and what the pedestrian was doing in the lane in the minutes before 3:00 a.m.