Arrested: Thomas Landon, 47, Boise
Charges: Injury to Child (F)
On September 27, 2023, around 8:15 p.m. Boise Police responded to a report of a child hit by a vehicle on W. Fairview Ave near N. Cloverdale Road. The driver who struck the child immediately stopped and tended to the child in the street. Ada County Paramedics also responded and took the child to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A preliminary investigation showed that a man on a bike had been with the six-year-old at the time of the crash but crossed the street first before directing the child to cross. The crash occurred as the child rode north across Fairview and was struck by a vehicle traveling westbound in the left-hand lane approaching Cloverdale. Further investigation identified the man with the child as Thomas Landon and evidence showed that immediately after the crash he went into a nearby gas station, and into the bathroom, before returning to the scene. Evidence showed Landon placed the child in a circumstance likely to cause great bodily harm or death by directing him to ride a bike across a heavily traveled road at night with no assistance and not in a crosswalk. Evidence also showed that the suspect placed the victim in another circumstance likely to cause bodily harm or death by leaving him lying in the middle of the westbound lanes of travel on Fairview. Landon was arrested and booked into the Ada County Jail. The investigation is ongoing and no charges were filed against the driver.
"This is a tragic example of the most difficult calls our police officers respond to--those involving young, impressionable, and vulnerable victims. I commend our officers on their quick response, professional investigative work, and for their tenacity in holding those responsible accountable. It is our collective duty to protect the youth of our community," said Boise Police Captain Jim Quackenbush.