Moscow Pair, Infant Son Die In Crash Driver Of Truck That Ran Into Them Will Be Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter
Only hours after having their family Christmas photographs taken, a young Moscow, Idaho, couple and their infant son were killed Sunday night when a pickup truck hit their station wagon near New Meadows.
The Idaho State Police identified the family as Dennis M. Barnett, 21, formerly of New Meadows; his wife, Kristina L. Barnett, 20, of Moscow; and their 6-month-old son, Justin Wyatt Barnett.
The pickup driver, Douglas G. Dixon, 36, of New Meadows, was arrested for drunken driving. ISP Cpl. Tim Davidson said Dixon will be charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, three counts of vehicular manslaughter and one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident.
According to Davidson, the Barnetts were traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 95 in their 11-year-old Chevrolet station wagon shortly after 9 p.m. They were going to visit Dennis Barnett’s parents in New Meadows, according to family friend Claudia Childress.
Dixon was westbound on Circle C Lane and failed to stop at a stop sign at the highway intersection. His 1995 Chevrolet pickup slammed into the Barnetts’ station wagon. The family members died at the scene.
The state police said Dixon, uninjured, fled but was found at the nearby home of his brother.
Davidson said Dennis and Kristina Barnett were not wearing seat belts. The infant was in a belted child seat, but it was in the front seat. Most child car seat manufacturers recommend that the seats be buckled into a car’s back seat for safety.
ISP said Dixon wasn’t wearing a seat belt, either, but his truck’s air bag was triggered by the crash.
The three bodies were taken to Heikkila Funeral Chapel in McCall. Services haven’t yet been arranged.
Childress said the deaths devastated members of Moscow’s Church of the Nazarene, where the young family had attended services Sunday morning.
Kristina Barnett grew up in Moscow, the daughter of farmers Don and Dianna Olson. She attended Logos Christian School in Moscow, graduating in 1994. She met her husband at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, and the couple was married a year ago. Dennis Barnett was working the harvest for his father-in-law, Childress said. Dennis Barnett grew up in New Meadows, where his parents reportedly run a cattle and logging operation.
The tragedy was even more shocking, Childress said, because Dennis Barnett’s sister was killed in a crash in the same area two years ago.
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