A Washington State Patrol trooper will face charges despite the Spokane County prosecutor announcing his retirement, officials said.
Spokane Prosecutor Larry Haskell announced earlier this week that he planned to step down from his position on July 18 after more than a decade.
One of the cases his office was handling is the potential prosecution of Sarah Clasen, 36. He agreed to take the case over for Prosecutor Eric Eisinger shortly after the March 1 crash that killed 20-year-old Jhoser Sanchez.
Clasen was making a left from Highway 240 into the Horn Rapids neighborhood when her Kia Telluride collided with Sanchez’s motorcycle. A Washington State Patrol toxicology laboratory found her blood-alcohol level was 0.17%.
While Clasen was arrested after the crash, she has not been charged in the three months since. The lack of charges have left many confused and upset, according to posts on social media.
Clasen, a 13-year veteran with the Washington State Patrol, served in the district that stretched between Yakima and Walla Walla as a public information officer.
Haskell’s retirement raised concerns that charges would never come, or that the case would have to be handed off to a different prosecutor’s office.
Chief Criminal Deputy Preston McCollam told the Tri-City Herald that charges will be coming, and they are actively reviewing the file.
He stopped short of offering a timeline, but said that more information will be coming.
Defense Attorney Scott Johnson said that the case is more complex than it’s been made to appear. He said if Sanchez is found to been responsible for the crash Clasen can’t be found guilty.
“In today’s world, people demand instant answers and then rush to judgment,” Johnson previously said in a statement. “However, drawing conclusions without all the facts is not only irresponsible, but also unjust to our client. She deserves, and the law demands that she receives, fair and impartial proceedings—not a system biased against her.” Fatal Crash
Clasen was driving a Kia Telluride on Highway 240 about 7:30 p.m. when she started turning into Village Parkway in the Horn Rapids neighborhood.
She told investigators she was going about 20 mph when she hit Sanchez’s motorcycle.
While Clasen and firefighters tried to save Sanchez’s life, he was severely injured and pronounced dead at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
Clasen refused to answer questions about whether she had been drinking, but the investigation found Clasen had spent nearly four hours at a local bar with her husband prior to the crash.
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