The mayor of Afton and his wife will be hospitalized in Idaho Falls, Idaho “for a time,” and the teenage driver who hit them with a car last week will soon be criminally charged, the Afton police chief said Monday.
Mayor JC Inskeep and his wife, Brenda Inskeep, were struck by a juvenile male driving an SUV around 6 a.m. on Thursday while they were on bicycles. The Inskeeps were traveling northbound on a street, as was the SUV.
Afton Police Chief Jason Romberg told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that he spoke with Inskeep, who said he and his wife will be at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for a time. Romberg was not sure of the timeline.
“They’re in good spirits, but they’re going to be there for a while, at least from what he told me,” Romberg said. “I think they’re in the best hands right now.”
The couple were conscious, coherent and speaking to Romberg last week after they were struck by the SUV, but Romberg could not speak to what injuries they received in the crash.
He also could not say how fast the driver was going at the time of the crash or how old the driver is.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol was brought in last week to investigate the crash to avoid conflicts of interest. Romberg said as of Monday afternoon, the crash report had not yet been completed by the highway patrol.
The police chief said criminal charges will be filed against the young driver, but he was unsure what the charges would be.
“This all has to be reviewed by the county attorney so they can decide what charges should be filed,” Romberg said.
Romberg was not sure if a temporary mayor had yet been appointed in Inskeep’s absence, but if not, then he said this will likely be done at next week’s Afton City Council meeting.
In addition to serving as the Afton mayor, Inskeep is also an employee of Lincoln County School District No. 2, where he is the finance director.
