Mom Praises Deputy Who Saved Children He Used His Cruiser To Block Fleeing Truck Heading For Kids

A mother is praising a Canyon County sheriff’s deputy who protected her children from disaster on New Year’s Eve.

“I thank God for him,” Shawn Wilson said after she heard that Deputy Kelly Montoya pulled his patrol car in front of a fleeing truck, saving her two children and a playmate.

The pickup was being pursued in a high-speed chase that ended when the truck rammed Montoya’s unmarked sheriff’s car on a sidewalk near Wilson’s home.

The driver, Bryan Jacobs, 21, of Nampa, was treated for minor injuries after his arrest and taken to the county jail.

Wilson’s children, Meagan, 13, and Roxanne, 9, were walking with Austin Boyce, 9, when Jacob missed an attempted turn and wound up on the sidewalk.

Montoya quickly swerved between the pickup and the children. His car was struck on the passenger’s side.

“I saw skid marks (from the pickup) 2 feet from where the children were,” Wilson said Friday. “They didn’t have time to react.”

Jacobs faces felony charges including eluding police, aggravated assault, malicious injury to property, resisting arrest, and driving under the influence, Chief Deputy Al Showalter said.

He also faces similar charges from a Dec. 20 incident in Caldwell in which he allegedly fled from officers after knocking down a teen-age girl with his vehicle, slightly injuring her. Nampa police also have warrants of battery, grand theft and contempt of court against Jacobs.