Off-duty WSP trooper allegedly spent 4 hours at bar before fatal Tri-Cities crash

Yahoo

02-04-2025

State testing shows an off-duty Washington State Patrol trooper was still drunk hours after a fatal crash in Richland.
The Washington State Patrol Seattle Toxicology Laboratory found Sarah Clasen's blood-alcohol level was 0.17% nearly six hours after the crash. That is more than double the legal limit of 0.08%.
Her blood alcohol level is just one of several revelations included in nearly 400 pages of investigation reports from Richland police. The documents were released to the Tri-City Herald as part of a public records request.
Her behavior also concerned bystanders who were trying to help. One witness told investigators that it appeared Clasen was trying to leave the scene, but couldn't, according to the documents.
Clasen was driving a Kia Telluride on Highway 240 about 7:30 p.m. on March 1 when she started turning into Village Parkway in the Horn Rapids neighborhood.
She told investigators she was going about 20 mph when she hit a motorcycle being driven by 20-year-old Jhoser Sanchez.
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.
Then after the crash, witnesses reported Clasen hesitated, and according to one person tried to drive away, before getting out of the Telluride. She was seen talking on the phone. One witness described her more like a nervous teenager than a seasoned police officer.
Following the crash, it appeared the bar that served her, a cash-only business known for serving stiff drinks, may have destroyed evidence of her being there, investigators said in the reports.
Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell told the Tri-City Herald on March 19 that he had asked for additional testing.
Haskell has been asked to handle the case for the Benton County Prosecutor's Office because of Clasen's position as a Washington State Patrol trooper. She was a WSP public information officer for the region.
Haskell didn't explain what type of testing he was looking for, but once it's finished his office 'will conduct a thorough review of the entire file.'
At that point, they will decide whether Clasen should be charged and with what crime.
Clasen, a 13-year veteran with the Washington State Patrol, served in the district that stretched between Yakima and Walla Walla.
While Clasen was initially suspected of vehicular homicide, she was arrested under a 72-hour investigative hold. This means prosecutors would normally have three business days to hold someone in jail before deciding to file charges.
Judge Diana Ruff decided to release Clasen after determining there were other means to stop her from putting the community in danger.
No charges have been filed in the past month. The filing of charges in vehicular homicide investigations can vary widely depending on the case.
For example, George R. Thomas IV was involved in a fatal Benton County wreck on May 24, 2024 but wasn't charged with vehicular homicide until nearly a month later.
And Celcilo G. Romero was charged with vehicular homicide in February 2024 for allegedly driving recklessly in November 2023 when he crashed in Richland and killed Maria Vasquez Reyes, 17.
Sarah Clasen and her husband Trent Clasen were regulars at the Moon Palace, according to the documents. The business on 228 Symons Street near the Uptown Shopping Center is listed as a Chinese Restaurant.
The business only deals in cash and requires customers to come in through the side entrance, while keeping the front door locked, the police report said.
A neighboring business owner said they are 'very heavy-handed' with the alcohol they include in their drinks.
'Up to this point, I was unaware that the Moon Palace was currently a functional business even though I was aware the building was at this location,' Richland Office Steve Heid wrote in his report. 'The years that I've worked for the city of Richland I had presumed that it was an abandoned building that used to function as a Chinese restaurant.'
While the couple are regulars, staff told investigators they don't drink too much.
Security cameras from businesses in the area showed Sarah Clasen arrive at the bar in a GMC Sierra and her husband was in the Kia Telluride. They showed up about 3:20 p.m. and were seen going into the bar.
It's not clear how many drinks that they had during their time inside. Police said in their reports that they suspect the people running the business eliminated their tab.
About the time they were leaving, Sarah Clasen ordered a pizza from the Domino's Pizza at 1408 Jadwin Ave. She picked it up about 7:30 p.m., less then 10 minutes before she would be involved in the crash.
Vega-Sanchez worked the day shift at LambWeston as a tote dump operator before returning to his home about 4 p.m. on March 1.
The man, who was described as a 'bright and loving' soul, had only recently started driving the motorcycle. His mother's boyfriend told investigators that he asked if he could ride it around the same Horn Rapids neighborhood.
He'd only ridden the motorcycle about three or four times before, the police reports said.
There was still a little bit of light left when he left the house about 6 p.m., his family told investigators.
Richland police officials have said there is no reason to believe that he was being unsafe as he drove east on Highway 240.
At the same time, Sarah Clasen said she was returning to her home with the pizza in the Kia Telluride. Her husband had already taken the GMC from the bar.
Investigators believe she didn't judge the distance correctly and as she started turning she slammed into the motorcycle.
Another driver, who spoke to police on the condition of anonymity, reported that in the moments after the crash, Sarah Clasen tried to flee, according to the reports.
'She explained that it looked like the vehicle had shut off and then turned back on, then moved forward about a meter, but could not move any further because the motorcycle was stuck underneath,' Richland police Officer Anthony Santana wrote in a report.
It wasn't until other people approached her SUV that Sarah Clasen went into action and began helping at the scene, the witness said.
Details of her inaction was echoed by two other witnesses. While they didn't see her try to drive away, they said Sarah Clasen seemed like a scared teenager who paced around. She then talked on the phone. It's unclear if this is when she was calling 911.
While the Washington State Patrol would normally handle investigations that happen on state highways, the investigation was handed over to Richland police because it involved a trooper.
Heid arrived on the scene about 9:16 p.m., according to body camera footage obtained by the Herald. He told Clasen that they were going to treat the investigation the same as if she were anyone else.
Clasen explained she was returning home after picking up a pizza, and saw what appeared to be a car with a burned out headlight but believed she had enough space to turn safely.
'I was already slowing in the turn lane and saw him there, and I was like 'I have enough time,' I turned and as soon as I turned I just felt boom,' she said.
She told the officer that she believed Sanchez was driving fast.
She never mentioned her trip to the Moon Palace, and when Heid suggested doing field sobriety tests or a breath test, she declined to do 'any tests under the circumstances.'
She did agree to give a written statement. When the officer came back and handed the form over, she suggested using the hood of her Kia to fill it out.
Heid said in his report that this seemed odd since her vehicle was involved in the crash.
'I found her suggestion to be odd considering I would expect an experienced law enforcement officer to be aware that the involved vehicles in a major collision should not disturbed during the investigation,' Heid said.
He said her eyes were 'slightly glossy and her speech was slurred.' He would also tell officers that she smelled slightly of alcohol. He considered that she might have been crying, but felt that there was enough suspicious behavior that suggested she was intoxicated.
When he approached her a second time about the tests, she declined again.
'Even if there is a little, if I had a glass of wine earlier or something like that. I just don't want to do it,' Clasen said in body camera footage. 'I definitely don't feel impaired. I don't feel like impairment was an issue.'
'Did you have a glass of wine earlier?' Heid asked.
'I'm not going to answer,' Clasen responded.
She was arrested shortly after this and brought to the Richland Police Department where a search warrant was written to take a sample of her blood.
Her blood was taken at about 1:15 a.m., about five hours and 40 minutes after the crash. The sample was sent to the state patrol toxicology lab.
She was then booked into the Benton County jail.
Haskell was not available Monday to comment on potential charges.