Update: ‘What about the trooper?’ No charges 6 months after deadly Richland crash
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Eight months after the crash, no charges filed against trooper Sarah Clasen.
- Clasen’s blood test showed 0.17% BAC, taken six hours post-incident.
- Family and public demand answer on when charges will be filed.
A Richland mother has waited six months to learn when a WSP trooper might be charged in the death of her son.
“The last thing we heard was that the new prosecutor was going to start studying the case,” Yolimar Sanchez Barbosa told the Tri-City Herald this week. “I’ve been trying to reach the secretary, but I’ve been getting voicemail and haven’t been able to get through.”
While she is worried Spokane prosecutors may forget about the case, Spokane Prosecutor Preston McCollam confirmed to the Herald on Wednesday that he still intends to file criminal charges.
In recent months, each time the Herald reports on a different fatal collision in the Tri-Cities, readers post hundreds of comments and questions about the status of the case of WSP Trooper Sarah Clasen.
Most recently, many readers posted in the comments on a Herald story about a fatal Interstate 182 crash, “What about the trooper?”
Spokane prosecutors agreed to handle the case to avoid any local conflicts of interest.
For about four months, Larry Haskell, then Spokane County prosecutor, told the Herald that they were continuing to wait for more lab results, though he didn’t detail what tests they were waiting for.
When Haskell announced in June that he would retire, McCollam, his chief criminal deputy prosecutor took over the office. He told the Herald at the time they were “actively reviewing” the case and planned to file charges, but needed to work on some scheduling issues in his office.
McCollam spoke with the Herald on Wednesday and he understands there is a lot of concern about the case, but feels it would be a “complete travesty” if they hurried to file charges and made mistakes.
He said he’s working on assigning an attorney who has the time to focus on the case and travel to Benton County.
“There hasn’t been any change. It’s just a matter of timing and logistics,” he said, noting his office is down eight deputy prosecutors and has fewer than 30 prosecutors handling about 3,500 felonies annually.
The time that it’s taking to file charges is consistent with other cases in his office, he said.
Highway 240 crash
Clasen was driving a Kia Telluride on Highway 240 about 7:30 p.m. March 1 when she started turning toward her home in the Horn Rapids neighborhood of north Richland.
She told investigators she was going about 20 mph when she collided with Sanchez’s oncoming motorcycle. He was severely injured and pronounced dead at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
Clasen refused at the time to answer Richland officers’ questions about whether she had been drinking, though she said she didn’t feel impaired.
The investigation found Clasen spent nearly four hours at a Richland bar with her husband prior to the crash. Reports obtained by the Herald under the Public Records Act show the couple were regulars at the bar at a former Chinese restaurant.
Clasen remains out of jail but is on paid administrative leave, WSP officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Her attorney Scott Johnson previously said the case is more complex than it’s been made to appear.
“In today’s world, people demand instant answers and then rush to judgment,” Johnson previously said in a statement. “However, drawing conclusions without all the facts is not only irresponsible, but also unjust to our client. She deserves, and the law demands that she receives, fair and impartial proceedings—not a system biased against her.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.