Driver in fatality had drunken driving conviction

BOISE – A Boise man charged in a deadly weekend accident that police say was due to road rage was convicted in 2002 of drunken driving after crashing into another driver who passed him.

Mark Lazinka, 45, was arraigned in 4th District Court on Tuesday on three charges of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Tony and Stephanie Perfect, both 23, and their 5-week-old daughter, Zoe.

The family was killed when their car was hit Saturday night at an intersection west of Boise by Lazinka’s pickup, which was traveling at high speed on Idaho Highway 55. Police believe Lazinka was chasing 22-year-old Cam Hall, who had passed Lazinka and apparently triggered a high-speed argument.

Hall, a Boise State University football player, swerved and missed the Perfect family’s car as it turned onto the highway. Lazinka’s truck hit the car at an estimated speed of 100 mph, according to police. Hall has not been charged pending the completion of an investigation, but Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney said the Kennewick man will “at least” face misdemeanor charges of reckless driving.

Police are awaiting Lazinka’s blood test results before determining if drunken driving will be added to the manslaughter counts. If found guilty of all three vehicular manslaughter charges, Lazinka faces at least 30 years in prison. If he was intoxicated, up to another 15 years could be added.

According to sheriff’s records and district court documents, Lazinka was involved in another clash with a driver who tried to pass him in February 2002.

Christopher Allen told police he came up behind Lazinka’s pickup traveling 10 mph in a 25-mph zone on a road in the Boise suburb of Eagle. When Allen tried to pass, Lazinka sped up and would not allow him to get around, according to police reports. When Allen eventually did manage to pass the pickup, Lazinka rammed into the rear of his Honda Civic, causing $4,000 damage.

Allen was not cited, but police reported Lazinka had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the state’s legal limit for drunken driving of 0.08. Lazinka pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge in 2002 and was sentenced to five days in jail and one year of probation.

A preliminary hearing on the latest charges against Lazinka is scheduled for May 24, at which time a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to bring him to trial. He was being held in the Ada County jail on $150,000 bond.