Trial date set after truck driver accused of killing two in crash pleads not guilty

POCATELLO — A trial date has been set for a truck driver charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter stemming from an Aug. 9 crash on Interstate 15.

Kenneth Dale Conley, 68, appeared before District Judge Javier Gabiola for the first time during an arraignment hearing Monday morning. During the hearing, Conley pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The charges have been set for a jury trial on Aug. 20.

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Conley was arrested following a crash that resulted in the death of two people.

During a preliminary hearing, on March 12, an Idaho State Police accident deconstructionist testified that, based on data stored in the dump truck Conley was driving at the time of the crash, Conley was accelerating up to one second before the collision occurred.

A witness, whose vehicle was also struck by Conley’s truck, said that all other vehicles had properly slowed as they approached the construction zone between Fort Hall and Chubbuck. The witness, Michael Rideout, testified during the preliminary hearing, saying he was traveling between five and 10 mph when he saw the fast-approaching dump truck in his rear-view mirror.

“At that point, I said to my wife and kids that ‘he’s not stopping, we’re f-ed,’” Rideout said.

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One of the three vehicles Conley’s truck crashed into carried sisters Mariah and Monique Morales and their friend Jaren Goering. Mariah survived the crash, while sustaining serious injuries. Both Monique and Goering died from injuries suffered in the collision.

Magistrate Judge Scott Axline determined following the hearing that probable cause existed justifying a jury trial and bound the charges over to Gabiola and the District Court.

Though Conley has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If he is found guilty, Conley would face up to 20 years in prison.