61-year-old woman admits to drunken crash that knocked out Prosser police officer

A 61-year-old woman has admitted to driving drunk and crashing into a Prosser police car, injuring the officer inside.

This is the first time that Anne M. Walsh of Auburn has been in trouble with the law and her attorney, Christopher Hoxie, said it’s been a wake-up call to address her alcoholism.

“I’m sorry that it ever happened, and I don’t want it to happen ever again,” Walsh told Judge Jackie Shea Brown during a her recent sentencing hearing.

Walsh previously pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to vehicular assault for a May 2023 crash with the Prosser police officer.

The collision sent Officer Scott Orate to Prosser Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to court documents.

Walsh faced a sentencing range of three to nine months in jail.

Shea Brown sentenced her to three months in jail, following the recommendation of the prosecutors and her defense attorney.

Walsh has already served her time in jail and will be on community custody for the next year while she gets alcohol treatment.

Prosser crash

Walsh reportedly started drinking about noon the day of the crash in May 2023, then she got behind the wheel of a blue Saturn.

She was heading south on Wine Country Road when she ran a red light at the intersection with North River Road, court documents said. She slammed into a Prosser patrol car turning left onto Wine Country Road.

When officers arrived, Orate was unconscious and it took more than a minute for him to regain consciousness.

A blood test found Walsh had a 0.17% blood-alcohol level, about twice the legal limit of 0.08.

After her first court appearance in December 2023, Walsh was allowed to stay in Western Washington as long as she didn’t drink. And she was required to use a portable breathalyzer to confirm that.

But after five months she had a positive breathalyzer reading, court documents said. She tested positive on May 26, then again on July 16. In addition, had she a 0.072% blood-alcohol level at 5:45 a.m. on July 16. She then skipped testing sessions.

A judge increased her bail to $20,000, which she posted to remain out of jail. But when she failed another test in July, her bail was raised again and she was unable to pay. That time she was booked into the Benton County jail.