BOISE, Idaho — A Boise woman arrested in connection with a crash that killed another woman late Monday on Highway 55 appeared in court Tuesday afternoon on two felony counts.
Natalie Hodson, 37, is charged with vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an injury crash. She was booked into the Ada County Jail early Tuesday morning. In her initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, the judge set bond at $50,000. Prosecutors had asked for $250,000.
A witness called 911 to report the crash at 9:21 p.m. Monday on Highway 55 between Beacon Light and Seamans Gulch Road. The Ada County Sheriff's Office says Hodson struck the victim, a 39-year-old woman, with her minivan while the victim was standing off the side of the road to check the back of her trailer. Deputies found the victim badly injured and began first aid. Paramedics took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
The victim was identified as 39-year-old Kristina Rowley of Cascade. A person who had been riding with her in her truck was not injured. Prosecutors said Tuesday that her 16-year-old son witnessed the crash. Rowley's cause and manner of death are pending, according to the Ada County Coroner's Office.
A Kristina Rowley memorial fund has been created on Venmo. The fundraiser can be accessed by clicking here.
Witnesses told investigating deputies that the driver, later identified as Hodson, kept driving north after the collision. One of the witnesses followed her for a short distance before she pulled over on Suttle Lake Drive. The sheriff's office says deputies interviewed Hodson there and collected evidence from the scene as well as where Hodson had stopped before they arrested Hodson.
In court Tuesday, prosecutors said Hodson told deputies she thought she had hit a mailbox and had drank four seltzers earlier.
Online court records indicate Hodson has been cited for and found guilty of speeding three times, including March 2022 in Ada County, February 2017 in Boise County and June 2010 in Valley County.
Hodson has a large following on social media as an online business coach, author, public speaker and podcaster. Her Facebook page indicates more than 466,000 followers on that platform; more than 90,000 follow her on Instagram. In 2019, KTVB featured her as part of a weeklong series on Treasure Valley Instagram Stars.
Watch more crime news:
See the latest Treasure Valley crime news in our YouTube playlist:
MORE LOCAL NEWS: Treasure Valley family asks others to 'be aware of others' on Boise River after bridge jumper sends two to the hospital