An Idaho father was allegedly recording an Instagram Story and browsing Amazon moments before a highway crash that killed his seven-year-old son.
Austin Summers, 31, has been charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter and two counts of injury to a child following the November 25 collision on Interstate 84, which claimed the life of his oldest son, Graham, and injured his two younger boys.
According to authorities, Summers was driving a GMC pickup westbound at roughly 73 to 75 mph in a 65 mph zone when he slammed into the back of a Ford F-450 moving at about 7 mph with its hazard lights on because of a mechanical problem, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Idaho Statesman.
Police later found Graham dead in the passenger seat of the pickup. Investigators said the child had not been wearing a seatbelt.
A report from the Canyon County coroner determined that the boy died from multiple blunt force injuries.
Summers was discovered injured and pinned in the driver’s seat, while his other two children, ages three and five, were found hurt in the backseat.
All three were taken to a nearby hospital, where they survived their injuries.
As Idaho State Police continued investigating the fatal crash, they said evidence showed Summers had been using his phone repeatedly in the moments before impact and at the time of the collision.
They also allegedly found that Summers’ blood samples tested positive for cocaine and opiates.
Austin Summers, 31, is facing one charge of vehicular manslaughter and two counts of injury to a child in connection with a fatal November 25 crash on Interstate 84
Summers’ eldest son, Graham Summers, seven, was killed in the collision
Summers was allegedly driving his GMC pickup truck on the westbound interstate at 73 to 75 mph in a posted 65mph zone when he collided into the rear of a Ford F-450 that was traveling at just 7mph with its hazard lights due to a mechanical issue
According to the affidavit, Idaho State Police Corporal Jeff McConnell spoke with Summers while he remained at the hospital on November 26.
The father-of-three claimed at the time that he had no recollection of what had happened.
McConnell then obtained a search warrant for Summers’ phone, which showed that between 2.45pm and the time of the fatal crash at 3.02pm he sent and received over a dozen messages, scrolled through Instagram, used the Amazon app and accessed his photos.
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He even took a photo and video of a separate crash on the interstate in the minutes before he collided into the Ford – as McConnell found an Instagram Story being drafted with a cut-off message that read: ‘Avoid th [sic] freeway heading…’
By 3.01pm, investigators said his phone showed he had opened a photo and at 3.02pm – the time of the collision – a text message was read, the affidavit claims, according to KIVI-TV.
An Instagram message was then allegedly accessed at 3.03pm, and an outgoing 911 call was placed at 3.04pm following the crash.
Lab results later found Summers had cocaine and opiates in his blood, at which point the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare opened a child protective investigation into the father-of-three, the Statesman reports.
Summers allegedly told cops in the aftermath he remembered his children being ‘rambunctious’ in the car
McConnell then met with Summers again on December 1, when he said he remembered his kids being ‘rambunctious’ in the car, remembered getting on the freeway and then recalled being in pain and ‘screaming to save his son’ after the crash.
But Mike Nielson, a crash reconstruction specialist with the Idaho State Police, determined that the primary cause of the collision was Summers’ reckless driving, including his cellphone use and his failure to properly ensure passenger safety.
A secondary cause, Nielson said, was the Ford’s loss of engine power, causing it to nearly come to a complete stop in a nearby construction zone, which provided the Ford with little to no shoulder to maneuver.
As the investigation then continued, the children’s mother, Ashley Summers, who is separated from Austin, provided authorities with court documents filed with the Ada County Courthouse in May 2026.
It allegedly showed Summers admitting to using cocaine on the Saturday prior to the crash, while in another court document, he allegedly admitted to knowing that Graham’s seat was unbuckled.
‘While I am devastated by the loss of my son, I take responsibility not in that I was impaired by any means, or that Graham unilaterally took his seatbelt off while I was driving on the freeway, but that I should have immediately pulled over and made sure he was properly buckled,’ Summers said in the filing. ‘That will haunt me forever.’
Ashley also allegedly provided police with a flash drive they said contained photos and videos of Summers with their children in vehicles without buckled seatbelts, as well as text messages between the two parents about the safety concerns she had while the children were under Austin’s supervision.
Graham was remembered in an online fundraiser as an ‘amazing big brother’ whose ‘silly spirit and infectious smile brought joy to everyone around him’
Summers is now being held at Ada County Jail on a $500,000 bond but has a hearing scheduled for August 6 to try to get the amount reduced.
Meanwhile, Graham was remembered in an online fundraiser as an ‘amazing big brother’ whose ‘silly spirit and infectious smile brought joy to everyone around him.
‘He had a special way of making people laugh and always put a smile on everyone’s faces, no matter the situation,’ read the GoFundMe, which was set up to help Ashley with the children’s medical costs and funeral costs.
‘His loss has left a deep void in the hearts of his family, friends and all who knew him.’
