By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-04 10:02:18 | Updated at 2025-03-04 12:58:35
3 hours ago
A Washington State patrol trooper was charged with vehicular homicide after she allegedly plowed into a 20-year-old motorcyclist while drunk behind the wheel.
Sarah Lee Clasen, 35, was driving in her vehicle down State Route 240 in Richland — about 200 miles southeast of Seattle — on Saturday at around 7:40 p.m. when she allegedly struck Jhoser Sanchez while he was riding his motorcycle, officials said in a press conference Monday.
Clasen had attempted to make a left turn in front of the motorcycle at an intersection, causing him to collide with the front right corner of her vehicle, Richland Police Department’s Commander of Investigations Damon Jansen said.
Washington State Troopers first arrived on the scene and performed “life-saving measures” on Sanchez before he was rushed to Kadlec Regional Medical Center — where he was later pronounced dead.
Though state troopers assumed investigative responsibility for the fatal crash, they quickly discovered Clasen was an off-duty officer with their department and transferred the investigation over to the Richland Police.
Officers “identified several inconsistencies” in her account of the collision, observed Clasen slurring her speech, and noticed she had “glassy eyes” during their initial investigation, Jansen said.
Clasen told investigators she was on her way home from picking up a pizza when she began “to turn” and collided with Sanchez, according to an affidavit obtained by the Tri-City Herald.
“The motorcycle was almost completely under the front of her vehicle as it rested on the side of the roadway,” Officer Steve Heid wrote in the affidavit.
“Sarah told me that the motorcyclist was definitely going faster than the posted speed limit,” Officer Steve Heid wrote in the affidavit.
However, Heid noted she had a clear view of oncoming traffic and believes that “an attentive driver should have been able to see the motorcyclist” before causing the collision.
Heid believed he smelled alcohol and asked Clasen to take a breathalyzer test — which she declined.
Clasen then allegedly told the officer she “knows how this works,” according to the affidavit.
He asked Clasen for clarification, to which Clasen allegedly mentioned a hypothetical situation involving a glass of wine.
“I responded at this time by asking her if she had a glass of wine earlier,” Heid wrote. “Sarah told me that she was not going to answer that question.”
“Probable cause was established,” and she was arrested at the scene.
Clasen was booked into the Benton County Jail on a 72-hour hold for Vehicular Homicide. Investigators have “obtained a court-authorized search warrant for a blood sample,” Jansen shared.
The alleged drunk driving off-duty trooper was released from jail Monday afternoon.
A Benton County judge ordered Clasen not to drive any vehicles unless an ignition interlock device — a breathalyzer that’s installed in a car to prevent it from starting after drinking alcohol — was installed.
She was also ordered to obtain an alcohol monitoring device within 48 hours of her release from jail.
The Benton County Prosecutor’s Office also announced “its intention to request a special prosecutor to oversee the case” to ensure “it is handled with complete impartiality,” Jansen said.
Her defense attorney, Scott Johnson, argued in court Monday that documents only say Heid smelled alcohol but didn’t specify it was on Clasen’s breath, according to court documents obtained by the Tri-City Herald.
Johnson also said his client immediately tried performing CPR on Sanchez after the collision and “When first responders came that’s exactly what she was doing, covered in the motorcyclist’s blood.”
“None of that is in the affidavit,” Johnson said.
Clasen was hired by the Washington State Troopers in 2012 and worked as a state patrol public information officer. She has been placed on administrative leave following the collison, Sgt. Jermaine Walker told the Tri-City Herald.
The fatal crash comes just over a year after Clasen was filmed in an interview with NBC Right Now, urging the public to be more attentive while driving.
Clasen noted that “speed, following too closely, distracted driving, and of course being impaired” is what contributed to the rise in crashes.
“I know it’s easy to get distracted by cellphones, radios, or occupants in your vehicle, but I think just being able to be alert and having that be the most important thing you’re doing is driving and keeping you and the people around you safe,” she said during the interview.
