KENNEWICK — A Washington State Patrol trooper is out of jail after a fatal collision with a motorcyclist Saturday night.
Sarah L. Clasen, 35, of Richland, was released on her own recognizance until a prosecutor decides whether she should be charged with vehicular homicide for the crash on Highway 240 near Horn Rapids.
Judge Diana Ruff said an order requiring a portable breathalyzer and an ignition interlock on her car would be enough to protect community safety.
“I am mindful that cash bail is standard, but it’s not required,” she said. “I don’t have concerns about her fleeing. She has sufficient ties to the community.”
“From the probable cause statement, she was cooperative, so I’m not concerned about that,” Ruff said.
Clasen has been in the Benton County jail since Sunday on suspicion of vehicular homicide in connection with the crash that killed Jhoser Sanchez, 20, of Richland.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Commander Damon Jansen said officers reported that Clasen’s speech was slurred and “disorganized,” and the officer smelled alcohol.
Sanchez had lived in the Tri-Cities for seven years. He was born in Venezuela and was a forklift operator for Lamb Weston, according to Einan’s at Hillcrest funeral home.
Prosecutor Eric Eisinger asked for $150,000 bail for the trooper, saying if Clasen is convicted of the charge she could face between 6 1/2 and 8 1/2 years in prison. That sentence could entice her to not come back to court.
While Eisinger appeared for the Monday hearing, a different prosecutor’s office will make the decision about whether Clasen will be charged in the death. He said her role in local law enforcement means his office shouldn’t handle the case.
Deadly wreck
The crash happened at the corner of the highway and Village Parkway, which leads into the Horn Rapids neighborhood, court documents said.
Clasen told investigators she was coming home after picking up a pizza from Domino’s and was making a left turn into the neighborhood. She said she saw a single light and believed it was a car missing a headlight.
As she turned, she felt the collision. She told a Richland officer that the crash seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Sarah told me that the motorcyclist was definitely going faster than the posted speed limit,” Officer Steve Heid wrote.
He noted the damage to Clasen’s SUV didn’t match her story. She had told the investigator that she was nearly finished with the turn when it happened. But most of the damage was to the right front passenger corner of the vehicle.
“She would have just begin to turn at the time of impact,” Heid said in the court document. “Also, the motorcycle was almost completely under the front of her vehicle as it rested on the side of the roadway.”
Heid also believed Clasen had a clear view of oncoming traffic and “an attentive driver should have been able to see the motorcyclist prior to the collision,” the court document said.
When Heid asked if she would perform sobriety tests or a breath test, she refused. When he brought it up a second time, Clasen allegedly said she “knows how it works.”
When Heid asked what she meant, she mentioned a hypothetical situation involving having a glass of wine.
“I responded at this time by asking her if she had a glass of wine earlier. Sarah told me that she was not going to answer that question,” Heid wrote.
Benton County Coroner Bill Leach told the Tri-City Herald that they are scheduling an autopsy for Sanchez, who died at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
Not enough proof
Defense Attorney Scott Johnson argued Monday afternoon that there isn’t enough proof to move forward with the case.
Court documents don’t say what experience Officer Heid has for investigating crash scenes, Johnson said.
Heid is a member of Richland’s traffic unit, but that wasn’t mentioned in his affidavit of probable cause.
Johnson also alleged that the motorcyclist’s speed contributed to the crash, and the driver had a history of driving too fast. Sanchez also allegedly didn’t have an endorsement to ride a motorcycle.
“This is an intersection that Ms. Clasen is very familiar with and she knew to look to the side to gauge to make the turn,” Johnson said. “And had that motorcycle not been speeding that turn could have been, and would have been successfully executed.”
Jansen said during the news conference that they do not believe Sanchez was speeding, and confirmed that the damage was to the corner of Clasen’s bumper, not the side of her vehicle.
Johnson said the officer just said he smelled alcohol, but didn’t specifically say that it was on Clasen’s breath.
He also said Clasen immediately started CPR on Sanchez after the collision.
“When first responders came that’s exactly what she was doing, covered in the motorcyclist’s blood,” Johnson said. “None of that is in the affidavit.”
Washington State Patrol trooper
Washington State Patrol troopers were first at the scene of the fatal crash, but after discovering it involved a trooper, the investigation was handed over to Richland police.
Clasen started with the state patrol in 2010 as a cadet, and then was hired as a trooper in 2012. She started working in the Yakima area, then transferred to the Kennewick office in 2019, Sgt. Jermaine Walker told the Tri-City Herald.
Clasen works as a state patrol public information officer for the area that stretches between Yakima and Walla Walla. She has been the voice of the department for a number of deadly crashes in recent months.
Prosecutor Eric Eisinger told the Tri-City Herald that Clasen’s involvement in local law enforcement has him looking for a special prosecutor to handle the prosecution.
She has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case, Walker said. It’s not clear if she will be paid during that time or not.
Once the criminal case is finished, the state patrol will decide whether an internal investigation is necessary.
“The Washington State Patrol offers our sincerest condolences to the victim and their loved ones,” State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said in a statement following the crash. “We are reminded in times like these that law enforcement officers are not immune from tragedy nor from personal accountability, and we urge all motorists to always drive with focus, care and caution.”
A second fatal wreck also occurred over the weekend near Benton City. WSP said the person charged with vehicular homicide in that wreck, Matthew D. Mason, is not a state trooper. A trooper named Matthew A. Mason works out of WSP’s Bellevue office.
