It was not only astonishing to see how our now local celebrity (the lady who drove off the street, across the greenbelt, through the bushes, onto the ice of the Snake River here in town, across the river, and over the falls(!), got in her wreck, but also how fast and how many Idaho Falls folk jumped to help.
This is the encouraging, heart warming thing about our community, we are here for each other, and helping, sharing, caring, and doing good for others. So long as we keep it up, we’re bound for a continuing comfortable community. Hats off to the locals who stopped doing what was important for them, in order to help out someone in far more need.
It makes Idaho Falls proud, that’s all!
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{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
Kerry, nice job for your first article… positive and upbeat message out of a tragedy…
I wasnt even suprised someone jumped in to help its a normal human response to danger. The question is why would she drive off in the first place? How fast was the vehicle going? Was it a suicide attempt? Does CPS need to take the child away for her protection? I saw where the vehicle landed and she would have had to been going real fast. And be totaly blind to the fact she was going to plunge into the river. And where was her brakes during all of this mess? Someone needs to send CS and a detective over there and find out what the heck happend this was no accident.
Sounds like an attempted murder / suicide to me. Hopefully they charge this woman for trying to kill her child along with herself.
I can see why it looks like a suicide attempt. I have to admit, that was my first thought when I saw the pictures.
However, we don’t have all the information so I don’t think we should jump to conclusions and judge her. Maybe she was having a reaction to medication or having a seizure when it happened. Maybe not, but the point is that we DON’T know.
I know one of the witnesses to the accident. He says the woman came to a complete stop on Memorial and slowly turned the car towards the river. She then gunned it and drove straight at the river never even trying to slow down or steer away. Its clear that the only thing that prevented her in killing herself and her child is the ice being thicker than expected.
(Guest from comment 4)
That is sad. I was amazed the ice didn’t break. It looked like you could see water in a few spots.
I sure hope she gets the counseling she’ll need before being released. (or having her daughter released to her care)
Like Guest said on comment #4, it’s doesn’t matter what a “witness” saw, we don’t need to jump to any conclusions before we find out the truth.
Two people can see the exact same thing happen and have two completely different views and/or descriptions of what they each witnessed.
I don’t think it’s anybodys place to judge this woman or even suggest that she did this on purpose. Lets all wait for the facts to come out before trying to speculate as to what happened.
The only thing we should be doing is commending the people who rescued her and her child and giving thanks that their both ok. Because in the end…that’s all that really matters here.
I don’t think IFPD could find snow in Alaska on Christmas Day let alone Ice on the river in Febuary, so I’m not holding my breath to hear the results of any IFPD Investigation. But they are lead to Glory by the Best of the Best or Holier than the Rest lol.
Just a thought, if it was in fact a suicide attempt I doubt they would release her name or many details.
They have announced on all the local news sites the name of the woman, Leslie Watson, and that she is being charged with felony child abuse for trying to kill her child. I hope she spends a long time in prison and never sees her child again. Its one thing to be depressed and suicidal. But its completely another when you try to take a child with you. Reportedly her motivation was that she lost primary custody to her ex husband so this was an “if I can’t have her neither can you” act. I have no sympathy for her and hope she suffers in prison.
And I hope the prosecutors don’t weasel and accept a plea bargain. I understand why they went felony injury to child rather than attempted murder as its a much easier charge to prove and the penalty would be similar in either case. But this woman better do a lot of hard time and if she gets out before the child is 18 then there better be a restraining order in effect.
It also says that she suffers from many years of mental illness. None of us have any right to judge this woman. But I’m sure that her mental illness will come into play during her trial and she’ll probably get off with probation a fine and a trip to the mental ward. All we can do now is hope for the best for her child. One can only imagine the impact this will have on HER mental state!
Scoob is exactly right that none of us should judge this woman. Having been through divorce and child custody disputes myself, I can only imagine the mental strain it would place upon someone with a history of psychological problems. I am relatively ‘normal’ and I barely survived it. In addition, the media seldom releases all the information related to things like this, so what is not being said about this situation?
I think that it is best for us to say Kudos to those who came to the aid of this woman and her child, and may the justice system decide the best course of action from this point.
I am grateful to the people who helped that poor child and her mother. That being said, I feel strongly that IF this was a suicide/murder attempt, the book should be thrown at that woman. It’s one thing to commit suicide, it is quite another to commit murder. If it was just an unfortunate accident, then she should be given whatever help she needs. Either way, I’m reserving my final thoughts until I know more details.
In post #10 Guest states that reportedly the woman’s motivation was that she had just lost custody of her duaghter. Is that a fact or a rumor? I’m not doubting what Guest said, but I didn’t see that reported anywhere.
i didn’t see that reported anywhere either and I looked on all three news sites and saw the story on each station last night. They mentioned NOTHING of a “ex-husband, child custody” problem.
We really shouldn’t be spreading rumors like that.
Sure it’s a tragedy, but lets not make it any worse than it already is by spreading rumors!
I’m the one who mentioned the custody issue. I’m getting that info from what I’d consider a very reliable source which is a friend of the family and someone who has read the full police report. Dad has had full custody for a while and Leslie Watson lost even visitation rights not too long ago due to her mental illness and the way she was behaving because of it. Then she managed to convince a mental health professional and a court that she was able to start having visitation again but she didn’t get everything she wanted. So she started getting visitation again and we all know how well that went now.
Also, many of you may not realize that Idaho is not a state where it matters if your mentally ill or not as far as the trial. There is no insanity defense in the guilt portion of the trial. Where her mental state can come into play is during sentencing where a judge can consider her illness in determining an appropriate sentence.
I think she should have the book tossed at her so the child doesnt get the death sentence per moms crazy behavior.
I’m getting that info from what I’d consider a very reliable source which is a friend of the family and someone who has read the full police report.
Have to jump in here…
First, AFAIK, prior to trial the full police report should be available only to the police and prosecutor, and, eventually, the defendant. So if someone with access to the full report is releasing that information, that seems to me to be both unethical and contrary to justice.
Second, it should be remembered that police reports aren’t fact. They are compilations of information gathered from witnesses and other sources. They may be accurate, they may not be. That’s why we have prosecutors, and why we have trials.
Based on my experience with the child protection system, it seems highly unlikely that the information presented by Guest is entirely accurate (not saying that Guest isn’t reporting exactly what he/she was told, just that it doesn’t sound right).
I have to assume that the prosecutor filed felony injury charges not because “it’s a much easier charge to prove”, but rather that the elements of more severe charges weren’t met.
The whole situation is sad. To compound it by prejudging the woman is sadder.
Sure maybe we all shouldnt judge the woman until she actualy does kill her 4 year old child. Why prevent it when that is to easy. Lets just sit here and let her goto the nut house and get her dose of drugs then get the kid back in her hands.
I really do not care about the ladies condition. I think everyone should think of the poor little girl who probaly can’t sleep because her mother tried to kill her. I will not ever feel sorry for the mom because of what she did to her child. She should never see her child again. That right should be taken away for ever. Everyone always says poor crazy person oh ouch poor soul lets all feel sorry for them. Then BOOOOOOM!!!!! they kill someone and everyone then says lets hang them!!! lynch that evil person.Well why not prevent a problem before it happens? It is so obvious she did it on purpose. People do not just drive off the falls on a normal basis there are brakes on the car. It took alot of speed to get across the ice like that with out busting thru. All I am saying is what about the poor little girl’s right to live a life?
Weighing in on this topic here.
I, like most people in the Snake River Valley, do not know enough to make a judgment – I agree that this is what trials are for, if it comes to that.
I feel compassion for both the mom and for her child (who may or may not get PTSD from this event).
The child should be monitored carefully. So should the mother. One does not have to be mentally ill, or emotionally distraught, or even evil to choose as mom did, but she CAN be any of those things. We simply do not know what was going on in her head. Few know enough to make an informed decision so for now I choose to say – I feel compassion for both of them.
While I’m @ it, I also feel compassion for the rest of the family and close friends – those who are probably being bombarded with “why did she do this?” questions – and who are expected to have a reasonable answer.
Life’s experiences can throw any of us off balance, and while it is probably true that everybody who reads this thread will think “I would never do a thing like what that woman did” – it’s still okay to feel compassion for somebody who did, in fact I think it’s honorable to do so. WHY? Because life can throw any one of us off balance @ any time – we could be in a position like that of the mom, or like that of the four year old child. In either case, compassion will do more to heal than lack of compassion. And I’d like to see healing happen here – for mom, for kid, for family, for community.
Comapssion doesn’t mean to ignore the problem – it means to embrace it with a balanced attitude between “what should be done about this event?” and “how can we best achieve it with a minimum of blame and hostility?”.
I don’t know this woman and I am not pleased in the least that she did what she did, because I am certain it will affect her young daughter for life (if even on a subconscious level). I understand why many are angry and believe the woman should lose access to her child. I’m angry too – but not so sure she should lose access. Perhaps unsupervised access, but I don’t believe removing a child entirely from her mother is the healthiest answer for the child. It might be – but I’m inclined to want to wait and see what a half dozzen or more professionals think.
And when all is said and done – I believe what is best for the child’s emotional and mental health is one of the defining factors in how this should be handled. Another defining factor – whether the woman is safe and reasonable on the road. If she is deemed unsafe then it is in her best interest and the entire comunity’s that she be relieved of her driving privledges until she can give ample evidence that what ailed her then ails her no more.
Those are my thoughts.
Excellent post Gypsy.
I heard sixth-hand from an eyewitness that the girl jumped out of the vehicle halfway across to the falls.
How awful.
Oh my! That would be awful!
I heard from my brother in laws, sisters baby cousin that the little girl was actually watching a dvd of “Over The Hedge” in the back seat when it all happened.
I thought the in-flight movie that day was “One Flew Over The Coo Coos Nest”
must’ve been a double feature!
It’s quite fortunate she picked the day she did to do what she did, so there was no one who died.
Any updates on this story? Is the woman still in BHC?
I know one of the guys who jumped in to save those two. He is honestly one of the best human beings on earth and has a big heart but any one of us would have done the same thing…right?
Terek Beckman you are the MAN!!!
Terek Beckman and Steven Haws are not only heroes, but my idea of what a “real” man represents.
They look very handsome, and wholesome. This makes me more proud to be a teacher, knowing that young me can still turn out to be this good! I would love to have them speak to my science class! Please pass on my email at
gloriaching@hotmail.com
Check out this month issue of Reader’s Digest for a story on these two brave individuals. Great National Attention!
The girl who drove over the river and falls has plead not guilty to a felony injury to a child.
That will be an interesting trial to watch.
I think it will come down to if she knew what she was doing, or if she was temporarily insane?
No contest, really. If she has a history of mental problems then that’s where it will end.
She knew what she was doing. Like Ace said, she’s had a history of mental illness. The real people at fault (or who should bear some of the blame) here is her family who knew this, yet still allowed her to raise a child and endanger HER life. It’s really quite sad! That child is going to need years of therapy.
I met Leslie and her family shortly after her daughter was born. She was a beautiful, kind, young woman, looked nothing like her court photo. Having lost touch with her,I know nothing of her mental history, but do recall her inner and outer beauty. It saddens me greatly that her picture perfect family ended. She and her husband were very happy at one time.
You’ll learn to realize the older you get that looks can be very deceiving. Just because a person or family looks good on the outside, doesn’t always mean things are going well on the inside. Many people have problems that they deal and struggle with on a daily basis, but you wouldln’t know just by seeing them on the street, or being introduced to them for the first time. Most people don’t walk around all gloomy and depressed, they deal with their problems in private, in their own way and the best that they can and move on with their lives. They don’t put their daughter in the car and attempt to commit a murder/suicide by driving into a river! Obviously her life wasn’t so “picture perfect”.
I would not know because of my ugly mug 8^) but I have heard that incredible beauty can be a curse for many ladies.
There is not a handbook for coping with how everyone puts you on a pedestal without knowing your abilities, and the way people treat you superficially.
I’m reminded of the blonde girl’s remarks of guys staring at her, from that movie American Beauty. Recall Marilyn Monroe’s struggles.
Is incredible beauty a gift or curse in modern American times?
I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this Leslie girl was hardly beautiful in my eyes. She was rather average looking if you ask me.
Still doesn’t justify what she did, whether she was beautiful or not. She had mental issues that that affects people of all types.
I think beauty is both a gift and a curse. It depends upon the individual though and how they handle that beauty. Many use it to their advantage and some abuse it and end up in disfunctional relationships.
You know what they say, beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes right to the bone……..
Hopefully her daughter will forget most of the incident, or at least get counseling whenever needed to cope with it.
So, the Honorable Jon Shindurling gave Leslie Watson three years probation and Mental Health Court. Plus, she gets a witheld judgment where the matter can be expunged from her record if she complies with probation.
This sentence sends a terrible message. If she wasn’t mental would the judge have sent the person to prison, I would hope so. All this sentence does is tell people…you don’t have to be responsible to take your mediciations and if you commit a crime you can get off easy by claiming you didn’t take your medications. This helps her and others like her evade responsibility. The prosecutor was also part of this baloney sentence and should be criticized as well.
So, the next time if someone dies because a mentally ill patient stops taking their meds because they don’t like how it makes them feel do we give them probation too? Just watch. It will happen again and this precedent will be set to allow lawyers to cause defendants to use this excuse defense to avoid responsibility.
Maybe if Watson had hit the Judge’s car while flying out of the Savings Center parking lot by the Courthouse somebody would have taken it more seriously. Honestly, this is an embarrassment just like the 3 year probation sentence received after Paulette Welch’s young son was killed in Bonneville County several years ago.
The Prosecutor’s Office is lazy. The Court is lazy too and intellectually defunct in trying to sell this sentence as a deterrent to Watson or the public at large.
Politically Mike and I are worlds apart; but in this case I have to wholeheartedly agree with him. His latest comment really saddened me, not because of what he said, but because it is true. An innocent child was let down. What’s going to happen the next time she is alone with this child? And at some point she probably will be. I’m hoping and praying that one of the conditions of her probation is that she can’t have any further contact with the child (or any child for that matter) at all — supervised or not.
I’m not remembering the Paulette Welch case that he talked about, but from the tone it sounds about the same.
I can’t help but think that if a father had tried to do a murder suicide he’d be going to prison. The courts are completely biased towards women when it comes to children.
Guest: I have to agree with you, and I am a woman. The courts aren’t the only thing that is biased towards women. The women on this Site would probably stone me and call me a traitor for saying this — guess it’s a good thing we are semi-anonymous.
Mental health court – good, she needs a lot of it. The record expunged if she completes everything, which basically means it’s erased from her record? Never in a million years should this happen.
Someone want to tell me who is responsible when this poor excuse for a mother wants to adopt a child in 10 years? No record of trying to kill her first child will exist. I’m sure her mental health records will be off limits too. We’ll be reading about another incident in the next state over in 10 years. Bad case disposition all around IMO.
You can bet the father would have his rear end slung up in Boise so fast his head would spin had he done it. Why is it us women can cry and plead the twinkie/PMS/whatever defense and get away with it!? That’s the insanity! Women have got to be just as accountable (yes I am one) and quit the boobing and whining about everything. Being a mom is really hard some days and so is life, but that doesn’t mean we run our kids into a river!!!!!!
I hope the father will stand up for his daughter and protect her from the mother. The reason is very clear. The Courts and Health & Welfare operate under the theme of restorative justice to bring the family together, even if it is not safe to do so. The Courts allow abusers to have contact with children all the time. Health & Welfare tries to put kids back in homes with parents that are abusive and inattentive all the time. Mental Health Court is a joke. When Judge St. Clair ran the Court (he recently retired) he never held anyone accountable. It was the same garbage Shindurling handed down. There was this idea that these people needed chance after chance to improve. A little understanding would save the day. Mentally ill people can be as normal as you and I when forced to take their medications. They can also be made to be more accountable when there are consequences to their actions. The current system coddles them and teaches them to use their illness to evade responsibility. This is not good for the offender, the families involved, and the public that demands protection and accountabliity from a system that offers neither. Reform is definitely in order here.
Many years ago, the voters passed a constitutional amendment to create the Juvenile Department of Corrections to handle young offenders. Previously to this, the Dept. of Health & Welfare was handling young offenders and it was a mess. The recidivism was sky high and offenders were having to be corrected by the adult system. Usually by then, it was too late.
The Mental Health Court system in this District has alot of involvement by the same bunch of do gooders from Health & Welfare that coddle offenders. The Idaho Department of Correction has handed alot of the therapy, medication, and monitoring of these offenders over to Health & Welfare teams with well meaning social workers. The problem is, they are too well meaning and don’t have the will to hold people accountable. This is not what social work school teaches them. So, the Court’s go along with this garbage because they too are trying to be understanding of the mentally ill population at the expense of public safety.
Leslie Watson got the benefit of the doubt and avoided major consequences for her actions. I bet if we review her record in 6 months there will be violations that are swept under the rug and she will be given a candy bar by the Mental Health Court Judge. In the end we will all be worse off. I just hope her daughter will be safe through the process and her father will not be trusting of the system to protect her.
I must admit I was extremely disappointed in this woman’s sentence. I too hope that someone protects this child. Since the woman’s record will be expunged does that mean she’ll be able to get custody back? I hope someone pushes to have her rights as a mother severed. That would be the surest way to guarantee the safety of the child.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, what if she wants to go open a daycare in a few years, in a city or town without much of an ordinance, she’s home free. If her record is expunged and her mental health records are off limit, why couldn’t she open one unnoticed?
Scary thought!