BOISE, Idaho (April 14, 2025) — Kent Fry was sentenced on March 28, 2025 by Judge James Cawthon of the Ada County District Court after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter almost two and a half years after the death of Rylan Hoob.
At the time, Fry hit him on October 21, 2022, Rylan Hoob had stopped and was straddling his bicycle in the dirt shoulder alongside the intersection of Beacon Light and Highway 55. Fry was driving a truck pulling a belly dump gravel trailer turning right onto Beacon Light from southbound Highway 55. He ran Rylan over with the rear tires of the trailer. Numerous eyewitnesses to this tragedy saw Rylan stopped on the dirt and not on the road. Despite his years of refusing to accept responsibility, Fry never claimed he kept his truck on the pavement.
Judge Cawthon imposed the maximum allowable jail sentence of 365 days under Idaho’s current misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter statute, with 215 days suspended. Fry was immediately taken into custody to begin serving 60 days in the Ada County Jail.
In a creative approach to sentencing within the constraints of Idaho law, Judge Cawthon also ordered Fry to serve the remaining 90 days of his sentence during a two-year probation period. During this time, Fry must report to jail the day before every holiday—including Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, and Independence Day—and remain incarcerated until the following day. Additionally, he must serve jail time on both his own birthday and Rylan Hoob’s birthday each year. Fry’s driver’s license has also been revoked.
“No one should go through what we have been through and are going to live with every day of our lives,” said Travis Hoob, Rylan’s father. “Heather and I ask everyone to let Rylan’s memory be a reminder to be aware of others on the road. As the Judge recognized, Rylan did everything right that day, but bad driving behavior has tragic consequences.”
The Hoob family had offered well over a year ago to recommend only community service if Fry would plead guilty and simply accept responsibility for his actions. Fry, who admits he saw Rylan before the collision and who drove away from the scene without stopping, declined the offer. The first time he expressed remorse for his actions to the family was at the sentencing hearing.
In resolving the related civil case, the company that owned the truck Fry was driving at the time of the incident has agreed that the vehicle will be destroyed. The Hoob family was represented by attorneys Kurt Holzer and Brooke Kenney of Boise.
This sentencing comes amid ongoing discussions about Idaho’s vehicular manslaughter laws, which currently classify many fatal driving incidents as misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of one year in jail, regardless of the severity of the violation or the tragic outcomes.
With the sentencing, the court proceedings chapter of this tragedy has come to a close for the Hoob family.
