Idaho Man Sentenced for Knocking Friend Off Cliff

KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) — A 20-year-old Bellevue man has been sentenced to at least two years in prison for backing his sport utility vehicle into a man at Magic Reservoir, knocking him off a cliff and causing his death.

The Idaho Mountain Express reports  Steven Tyler Jameson was sentenced by 5th District Judge Robert Elgee on June 3. Elgee gave Jameson a two-year fixed prison sentence, followed by a 4 1/2 -year indeterminate sentence. Jameson was given credit for the year he has spent in jail.

Jameson pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in April for the June 2, 2012, death of 26-year-old Stephen Ray Franco of Ketchum. Jameson admitted that he had been drinking and accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake as Franco was directing him as he backed up.