Idaho Man With History of DUI Sentenced For DUI Crash That Killed Mother and Baby

An Idaho man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for causing a fatal accident in Southern Idaho heading into the 4th of July weekend in 2025. A mother and infant were killed in the crash on Highway 93 in Jerome.

The sentencing was shared this week after the male driver entered a plea deal in the Jerome County District Court in March. The fatal accident was one of 9 deadly crashes that occurred from the last week of June into the first week of July last year.

READ MORE: ISP Reported 9 Deadly Accidents Leading Up To The 4th of July, 2025

On July 3rd, 2025, around 10 PM, Idaho State Police responded to a 2-vehicle accident north of Jerome on US93 near mile marker 63. A 2005 Ford Explorer had crashed head-on into a 2012 Dodge Journey.

According to the ISP report at that time, the accident sent the driver of the Ford to the hospital by ground ambulance. A 41-year-old female passenger in the Dodge passed away at the scene of the crash. The driver of the Dodge and an infant were taken by air ambulance to a hospital. Later reports state that the baby also passed away. The report doesn't state if the driver or passenger were the mother of the baby.

The driver of the Ford, Jonathan Galvan Villagomez (now 28 years old), had a history of DUI in the years leading up to the fatal accident and was in his third year of a suspended prison sentence and supervised probation, according to an article from 2023.

Villagomez pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular manslaughter. Other charges were dismissed as part of the plea, including a second manslaughter charge, DUI, drug possession, open container, and resisting officers, according to a report from KMVT.

Some comments on social media share opinions that the sentence should have been more severe, considering the history of DUI and the two lives that were taken due to the accident.