Victims in Fatal Fruitland Accident Were Newlyweds

The victims of the fatal auto/pedestrian in Fruitland on Wednesday just got married in December and it looks like this may have been done on purpose.

The victims have been identified as 17-year-old Amelia Parkinson and her husband 22-year-old Matthew Parkinson.

Sadly the deaths are being investigated as a homicide. 37-year-old Jason Verwer is in custody and according to idahonews.com the Fruitland resident is being held on a mental health evaluation.

We have no idea why (if this is indeed the case) Mr. Verwer would purposely hit the young couple. They were just walking down the sidewalk holding hands and didn't even see the car coming from behind.

Verwer was heading North towards U.S. 95 when suddenly he swerved off the side of the road and hit Amelia and Matthew.

We don't know if Mr. Verwer is connected to the couple of if he even knew them, but obviously its a terrible tragedy. Two young lives taken far too soon. We'll keep you updated as this story unfolds.