Sarah Clasen, a public information officer, is facing serious consequences for her actions. The 35-year-old female officer who works for Washington State Patrol was arrested for homicide. The officer has been placed on administrative leave following the incident.
Clasen was arrested on Saturday after the Richland police officers got a call regarding an accident. According to KOMO News, the incident occurred at State Route 240 near Horn Rapids.
The authorities arrived at the site of the accident to see a motorcyclist hit by a car that Clasen was driving. The motorcyclist, Jhoser Sanchez, sustained serious injuries after he was fatally struck by a car.
The 20-year-old was rushed to the hospital by the authorities. The efforts proved futile when the young motorcyclist was pronounced dead as soon as he was brought into the hospital.
The local police department started investigating the accident after the Clasen was arrested. The officer was booked into the Benton County Jail soon after she was taken into custody. The authorities decided to hold her in the county jail for 72 hours for vehicular homicide.
The accident took place when Sarah was off-duty. Notably, the officer was using her personal vehicle at the time. Tri-City Herald acquired official documents, including an affidavit detailing the incident.
According to the document, Richland Police Officer Steve Heid suspects that Clasen was under the influence when she decided to get behind the wheel. Heid shared how the female told him that she was returning home from Domino’s when the incident happened.
Sarah reportedly turned to take a left to get into a residential neighborhood. According to the affidavit, the 30-year-old claims that she saw the single headlight of the motorcycle. She claims to have mistook it for a car with a missing headlight.
WSP trooper arrested for DUI vehicular homicide placed on administrative leave https://t.co/Dhx7U1nDqw
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The realization that she had misjudged the situation came when she turned left and crashed into the motorcyclist. In the affidavit, the officer alleges the motorcycle to have appeared suddenly.
“Sarah told me that the motorcyclist was definitely going faster than the posted speed limit,” Officer Heid recalls. He also doubted the credibility of Sarah’s testimony, pointing out that the story did not seem to align.
“She would have just begun to turn at the time of impact,” Heid noted. He also pointed out how the motorcycle was “completely” under Clasen’s car when they arrived to inspect the scene.
Officer Steve also noted that any “attentive driver” would have been able to see the motorcyclist. He revealed that Clasen also denied getting tested for intoxication when asked to breathe into the breathalyzer.
WSP Trooper Sarah Clasen was released from jail Monday following her arrest for an suspected DUI crash that occurred while she was off-duty and claimed the life of a 20-year-old man. https://t.co/CbFr5yTiXe
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Clasen also reportedly started talking about hypothetically drinking a glass of wine. Officer Steve Heid then inquired if she had a glass of wine before getting behind the wheel. “Sarah told me that she was not going to answer that question,” Heid recalled.
What came to be noticed after the incident was that Clasen has been an advocate for safe driving. The officer was interviewed for NBC’s Right Now, where she educated citizens about the importance of being vigilant while driving.
In the interview, she spoke about how easily people often get distracted by cell phones and radios while driving. She also emphasized the importance of being citizens “alert.” She concluded by noting how important it is to keep “you and the people around you” safe.
