Boise man dies when ATV plunges into river

A 48-year-old Boise man was killed in an ATV accident Friday night when the vehicle he was riding went off a forest service road about 12 miles north of Long Gulch Road and plunged into the Boise River.

Elmore County Search and Rescue workers found his body the next morning about half a mile downstream from the site of the accident.

Elmore County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Banks said Alfred Michael Stetzel, 48, of Boise, and his son, Jami Stetzel, 28, also of Boise, were riding the ATV together when it left the road at about 10:45 p.m. Friday night. Banks said there were indications both men may have been drinking, but blood alcohol tests had not come back by press time.

Banks, who was in Mountain Home at the time the call was received, immediately activated the search and rescue teams, then drove to the site, arriving at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning. He said a large number of Stetzel's relatives were already on scene at the time he arrived.

Jami Stetzel was taken by air ambulance to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center were he was treated for a jaw broken in three places and lesser neck, back and head injuries. He was released from the hospital Sunday.

Banks said autopsy results have not been returned yet, but he believed it might have been possible that Stetzel could have survived his injuries if he hadn't gone into the water. Banks said he expected that death was due to a combination of his injuries and drowning.

The accident remains under investigation.

It was the first ATV fatality in Elmore County this year. Last year two people died in separate ATV accidents in the county.