No Court Appearance For Trooper In DUI Related Death

Washington State Trooper Sara Clasen appeared before Superior Court Judge Diana Ruff (via video) March 3rd.  It was less than 48 hours after she was involved in a vehicle vs motorcycle accident that claimed the life of 20-year-old Jhoser Sanchez.  At that time, Ruff determined Clasen should be released without bail and ordered to appear again in court Wednesday March 12th (today).

The nine days between scheduled court appearances saw new developments which have ultimately led to her arraignment (when Clasen would hear the charges against her) postponed.  During her only appearance thus far (March 3rd), Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger, announced his intention to find a Special Prosecutor to handle the case.  His reasoning was:

...based on Clasen’s position as a local law enforcement officer and the need for independent review and handling of this matter in the interests of justice

Two days later, on March 5th, it was announced that the Special Prosecutor handling the case would be Larry Haskell of Spokane County.  That allowed a week for the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office to conduct an investigation into Clasen's case.

The 9-1-1 Call From The Accident Has Been Released

Clasen called 9-1-1 from the scene of the accident.  It lasted a little over 4 minutes.  During the call Clasen was asked if she was injured, to which she responded she was not.  She was then asked if she was involved in an accident with a motorcycle and if anyone else was injured.  She confirmed the involvement of the motorcycle and said initially she though no one was inured.  That quickly changed when she told the dispatcher she would check.

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"There Is Definitely Somebody Injured...Possibly Fatality"

Those were the words Sarah Clasen spoke as she went to check on the condition of Jhoser Sanchez.  Clasen then told the dispatcher there was "no pulse" on who she initially said was a pedestrian

After mentioning the word responder to the dispatcher, she was asked to confirm if she indeed was a first responder.  Clasen answered in the affirmative.  Performing CPR was suggested which Clasen said she would begin.  She was then told other first responders were on the way.

The rest of the call is mostly silence, broken up by the sound of windshield wipers in the background and a couple of faint pleas of "C'mon, C'mon" as Clasen performed CPR.  As sirens could be picked up towards the end, she was heard saying

Are you breathing in through the mouth?

...and then

Please don't hurt me.  Don't hurt me.

We don't know if that last plea was spoken to Jhoser Sanchez, or to the responding officers.

An Empty Court Docket

The investigation into the accident began with Richland PD taking over for the State Patrol.  Benton County then handed it off to Spokane County to investigate further.  As of this morning Sarah Clasen's name did not appear on the Superior Court docket for Benton County.  The postponement could be for a number of reasons, but the most likely is that the Special Prosecutor needed more than a week to conduct their own investigation.

I reached out to Larry Haskell regarding the current status of the case and this was his response:

I have been appointed as special deputy for the Clasen matter under RCW 36.27.040. I consider the investigation to be active and ongoing. A charging decision will be made when the investigation is complete and a thorough review has been conducted by my office.

 

The results of Spokane County's investigation will determine whether or not formal charges are brought against the Trooper.  Clasen is currently on paid administrative leave, and out on her own recognizance, while wearing a court ordered blood alcohol monitor.  The results of her BAC test (taken the evening of the accident) have not yet come back.