WSP trooper stopped to help a stranded Kennewick driver and got a face full of drugs instead
A Washington State Patrol officer stopped to help what he thought was a stranded driver in Kennewick and ended up in the hospital.
The commercial motor vehicle officer spotted the Volkswagen Passat parked on the right shoulder of Highway 395 near 27th Avenue around 7 p.m. Tuesday, said Trooper Chris Thorson.
The commercial WSP troopers are responsible for making sure semi trucks and other commercial vehicles are inspected and operating legally.
When the trooper walked up to the car, he saw a woman passed out in the driver’s seat and a piece of tin foil the back.
Suspecting drugs were involved, he went back to his car to call another trooper for help. In the meantime, the woman woke up and opened her window as he approached again.
That’s when the state patrol believes he was exposed to fentanyl.
His health deteriorated quickly, and an ambulance was called. He was taken to nearby Trios Southridge Hospital.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that comes in several different forms, including pills, patches and powders. It can be smoked, swallowed or injected and is often mixed with heroin or cocaine.
There is some dispute about how dangerous it is to inhale fentanyl once it becomes airborne. Advocacy groups and poison control centers say risks from inhalation, skin and eye exposure are minimal.
But the potential risks have prompted the Washington State Patrol to stop conducting field tests on white powders during traffic stops.
“We do not handle any white powder any more because it’s so dangerous,” Thorson told the Herald.
Troopers didn’t have sufficient reason to arrest the woman, but they impounded her car and planned to search it after getting a warrant.