Pocatello police file photo stock image

POCATELLO — A 37-year-old local woman has been charged with misdemeanors for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident following two hit-and-run incidents on Sunday night, Pocatello police said.

Casey Champion, of Pocatello, was cited with both misdemeanors after being transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center with a head injury following the incidents, police said.

A Pocatello police officer was dispatched to the 500 block of North 15th Avenue around 10:50 p.m. Sunday for the report of a two-vehicle crash in which one of the vehicles was identified as a Kia sedan, police said.

The officer arrived on scene and observed damage to a parked vehicle but did not see the Kia sedan. The officer subsequently located a Kia sedan, occupied by Champion, in the area of Booth Drive and Pocatello Creek Road and observed damage to the front of the vehicle, police said.

Champion, who was identified as the Kia’s driver, was unable to successfully complete standardized roadside sobriety tests and was asked to complete a breathalyzer test, police said. After completing the breathalyzer test, the officer noted Champion’s blood alcohol content levels were 0.258 and 0.270, both of which were over three times the legal limit of .08 to safely operate a motor vehicle in Idaho, police said.

After Champion was transported to PMC, the officer learned that she had struck a second parked car on Sunday night in the area of Greenacres Elementary School, police said.

Champion was cited with both misdemeanors after being treated at PMC, police said.

Champion appeared in court for an arraignment hearing on Wednesday, during which she entered a not guilty plea for both charges.

She is due back in court for a pre-trial conference on May 12.

If convicted of both charges, Champion faces up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Recommended for you

Welcome to the discussion!

The Idaho State Journal invites you to take part in the community conversation. But those who don't play nice may be uninvited.

Comments that are:

  • off topic
  • defamatory
  • libelous
  • obscene
  • racist
  • abusive
  • threatening
  • an invasion of privacy (doxxing)
  • profane (including attempts to misspell profanity in order to get around the profanity filter)

will be deleted. Repeat offenders will lose commenting privileges.

Comments are opinions of the author only, and do not reflect the opinions or views of Idaho State Journal.