FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
| Date: | May 1, 2024 |
| Contact: | Emily Lowe Public Information Officer 208-287-7700 |
BOISE – Kellen Tutt, 41, will serve up to nine years in prison for driving impaired, hitting and killing 79-year-old Henry Reents.
On Wednesday, Honorable Ada County District Judge Peter Barton sentenced Mr. Tutt to nine years in prison, with two years fixed before being eligible for parole. Judge Barton also ordered the defendant’s driver’s license to be suspended for seven years upon Mr. Tutt’s release to parole. Mr. Tutt pled guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter in January of this year.
On January 23, 2023, Mr. Tutt drove under the influence of alcohol to the YMCA in downtown Boise with his child in the vehicle. Upon dropping his child off at the YMCA, he drove through the intersection of State and 11th Streets where Mr. Reents, who had the right of way, was walking through the marked crosswalk. Mr. Tutt hit the victim, who later died from his injuries at a local hospital.
Following the crash, empty alcohol cans were located near his vehicle in a nearby parking lot. A blood draw found the defendant’s alcohol content to be 0.134.
“Driving under the influence is a serious crime that endangers our community, and unfortunately in this case, took the life of an innocent man,” said Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. “On behalf of my office, we extend our condolences to Mr. Reents’ family and loved ones for their tremendous loss. Thank you to the Boise Police Department for their hard work on this case.”