A lawsuit filed against Thurston County over a collision Sheriff John Snaza caused in 2018 has been stalled in county Superior Court since being filed nearly three years ago.
Louis Gillespie, a county resident, sued the county on Nov. 26, 2019, according to court records. In Gillespie's complaint, he accuses Snaza of rear-ending his vehicle in Lacey on Feb. 16, 2018 and causing Gillespie "significant personal injury, wage loss and property loss."
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office acknowledged the incident shortly after it happened, The Olympian previously reported. But at the time, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said no one was injured in the crash.
Fast forward to 2022, when Snaza has been campaigning to win another term as sheriff while fending off criticism from his challenger, Deputy Derek Sanders. Recently, details and interpretations of Gillespie's case have been widely shared on the internet, raising questions about the crash, Snaza's role, and how the county has handled the case.
For its part, the county has agreed to accept fault for the collision, according to Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson Tara Tsehlana. However, the parties have been unable to agree on damages.
Gillespie's attorneys Kamela James and Eric Fong told The Olympian the county initially denied being at fault, and has continued to dispute the extent to which Gillespie's injuries and related impacts resulted from the collision.
As a result, a jury trial was scheduled to start on Oct. 17, but records indicate scheduling conflicts led to its cancellation.
The Prosecuting Attorney's Office expects the trial to be rescheduled to May 2023, according to Tsehlana. She denied the election had any bearing on the delay of the case.
Snaza told The Olympian he has not been involved in the case and only learned about it last week. He declined to comment on the county's position in this case, saying he didn't know enough about it.
"When I heard about it, obviously I'm just going, 'Great, it's going to be used against me. Why is this suddenly coming out now during election time?' " Snaza said. "It's politics."
How Did the Crash Happen?
The crash occurred at about 7:20 a.m. Feb. 16, 2018, as Snaza was driving west on Pacific Avenue Southeast and approaching Sleater Kinney Road in his county-issued 2015 Ford Explorer.
The sheriff's office said at the time Snaza hit a pickup truck that was stopped in front of him. Notably, the sheriff's office described the incident as a two-vehicle collision, The Olympian previously reported.
From Gillespie's perspective, Snaza failed to stop in time when he slowed for traffic, causing the collision. And, Gillespie, 33 at the time, alleged the collision pushed his 1988 Toyota Tacoma into the vehicle in front of it, making it a three-car crash.
A Lacey police report, included among court documents, describes the same narrative but with more detail.
Snaza told a responding police officer he suffered from an "illness" and sneezed as he was driving, according to the report. The sneeze reportedly caused Snaza to momentarily look away from the roadway just before the collision.
Gillespie told the officer he had stopped for a red light as Snaza's vehicle struck his. Snaza immediately asked him if he was okay, to which Gillespie responded, "as far as I can tell for the moment," according to the report.
The force of the collision jolted Gillespie and he complained of neck pain, according to the report. Medics from Lacey Fire District 3 examined Gillespie at the scene, but he was released.
Medics also examined the driver of the vehicle ahead of Gillespie. He complained of back pain, but medics released him at the scene as well.
At the time, the report said Snaza wore his duty uniform but rode in an unmarked grey vehicle.
Snaza corroborated this series of events in an interview with The Olympian. He added Gillespie initially told him he felt "fine," and he has not spoken to him since then.
"I know he was out and about walking around, saying he was fine," Snaza said. "To be honest with you, a lot of people do that and then they realize a day or two later that they're hurt."
Gillespie declined to comment for this story, but The Olympian was able to speak to his attorneys.
The Court Case
Gillespie's complaint alleges Snaza's actions constitute negligence, but Snaza has not been listed as a defendant. Gillespie sued the county for damages because Snaza was acting as an employee of the county at the time.
Court records indicate Gillespie's injuries included shoulder and back issues that affected his ability to do his job. His attorneys, James and Fong, said they previously requested the county acknowledge and compensate their client.
"They failed to make an offer, so we were left in a situation where we had to file suit," James said.
To defend itself against these allegations, the county hired Dynan and Associates, P.S., a law firm based in Tacoma. Thurston County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rick Peters has served as co-counsel for the county as well, according to court records.
In a prepared statement, Tsehlana, from the Prosecutor's Office, said they hired outside counsel because they do not have the resources to respond to expansive litigation alone.
"It is much more cost-efficient to hire outside counsel as needed rather than full-time, in-house DPAs for this role," Tsehlana said. "Therefore, it is our norm to hire outside counsel to manage litigation."
The county had spent $127,283 on the defense and indemnity of this case as of Friday, according to Tsehlana. She added this amount is part of the county's insurance deductible and any costs above the deductible will be covered by insurance.
In their initial response to the complaint, the county's lawyers admitted the collision occurred but denied Snaza's actions caused the significant injury, wage loss and property loss Gillespie's lawyers described.
Furthermore, they denied Snaza's actions constituted negligence and suggested Gillespie may be at fault for his own damages.
Since then, both sides have been gathering evidence and witnesses. For their part, Gillespie's lawyers have listed his doctors, family and friends as witnesses.
Meanwhile, the county has hired its own experts. In one affidavit, dated Sept. 27, 2021, the county's lawyers present a doctor's opinion that says Gillespie's lower back pain resulted from a pre-existing condition and was not wholly caused by the collision.
"They have hired three experts to minimize and deny that this high-speed crash that totaled two vehicles was the cause of a shoulder surgery and the need for future back surgery," Fong said.
Gillespie's lawyers said they sought to depose Snaza in June 2021, but the county refused to produce him. James added the county's lawyers went as far as to say they would seek a protective order for Snaza.
"I received correspondence from his attorneys saying they didn't see any reason for him to be deposed because they were accepting liability essentially for the collision," James said.
Why the Delay?
The case has been moving toward a jury trial that has been repeatedly delayed. The Prosecutor's Office blames these delays on COVID-19 and unsuccessful mediation.
"COVID put a halt on civil trials because of safety concerns around convening a jury," Tsehlana said. "Once trials started again, criminal trials took priority due to speedy trial requirements."
There are over 2,000 criminal cases that were backlogged as of Friday, meaning they had not yet been filed and are not currently set for trial, according to Tsehlana.
The Prosecuting Attorney's Office denied that the election played any role in recent delays.
"The election has no bearing on the process or timeline of this case," Tsehlana said. "Perhaps it's helpful for the community to understand that this case is progressing the same as any typical insurance case."
The trial most recently was scheduled for Oct. 17, but Judge Carol Murphy granted a motion to continue the trial on Oct. 14.
Murphy reportedly needed to preside over a criminal trial during the scheduled trial date, so the county's attorney requested the trial be delayed again, according to court records.
On behalf of Gillespie, attorney Morgan Cartwright, from the Law Offices of Kamela James, PLLC, "responded in opposition," per court records.
Murphy ordered the lawyers to work with court administration to determine a new trial date. As of Nov. 1, court records indicate a new trial date had not yet been set.
