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New details in deadly WA state trooper crash
New details surrounding the fatal crash involving a Washington state trooper have been revealed through probable cause documents.
RICHLAND, Wash. - New details surrounding the fatal crash involving a Washington state trooper have been revealed through probable cause documents.
The crash happened in Richland, Washington, in Benton County, on the evening of March 1.
Richland police arrested Sarah Clasen, a Washington State Patrol trooper who was off-duty at the time of the crash. She is accused of driving under the influence and causing the crash that killed 20-year-old Jhoser Sanchez.
WA state trooper arrested for deadly Richland crash
A Washington state trooper is under investigation for DUI vehicular homicide following a crash while off duty.
Sanchez was driving his motorcycle eastbound on State Route 240 when Clasen allegedly made a left turn in front of him, leading to the fatal collision.
Sanchez's family has since started an online fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses.
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What they're saying:
According to the affidavit of one of the responding officers, Clasen said she was returning home from picking up Domino's Pizza, and she was turning onto Village Parkway from westbound SR 240.
Clasen said she saw a vehicle light coming towards her as she made the turn, but thought it was a car with one of its headlights out, and believed she had enough time to safely make the turn, probable cause documents state.
The officer noted Sanchez's motorcycle was under Clasen's SUV, with most of the damage concentrated to the SUV's passenger side front corner.
Clasen allegedly said Sanchez was "going way faster than the posted speed limit," and that she "almost completed the turn at the time of impact." However, police said it appeared she had just begun to turn upon impact.
Police said Clasen had slightly glossy eyes, disorganized statements, slurred speech and an odor of intoxicants coming from her over two hours after the crash.
Officers said Clasen declined to complete field sobriety tests or a preliminary breath test, but did give a written statement consisting of six sentences.
The officer's statement said, "an attentive driver should have been able to see the motorcyclist prior to the collision."
Clasen was booked into jail for suspicion of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, and was later released on her own recognizance.
Police said they collected a blood sample, which was pending analysis as of Monday.
The Source: Information in this story is from probable cause documents from Benton County Superior Court, GoFundMe and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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