A Bingham County Sheriff’s Office deputy has resigned after being charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter following a fatal Feb. 1 crash she was involved in while allegedly texting and driving in her patrol car.
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Tuesday news release that it has accepted the resignation of Stephanie Grisham, 38, of Blackfoot, due to pending criminal and civil proceedings.
“We consider that day to be a tragedy all around,” the sheriff’s office said in its news release.
The initial incident unfolded on Wolverine Road west of the intersection of 1100 East and 600 North in Bingham County, according to court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.
An Idaho State Police trooper investigated the incident, reporting that the crash occurred while Grisham was driving west on Wolverine Road in her black Ford Explorer Bingham County Sheriff’s Office patrol car, the report says.
Robert Jay Beal, 80, of Shelley, was heading east on Wolverine Road with his wife, Linda Beal, riding as a passenger in their Dodge Ram pickup truck, police said.
The dash camera from Grisham’s patrol vehicle shows that she drove into the eastbound lane of travel and collided with the Dodge Ram pickup truck, according to the police report.
Robert Beal died as a result of this collision and Linda Beal was severely injured, according to the news release.
“I reviewed the dash camera footage and compared it to the text message thread on (Grisham’s) cell phone,” the trooper wrote in the report. “I observed that when there was text message activity shown on the cell phone, the dash camera footage would show the patrol car veer to the left and go into the oncoming lane of traffic. There was no exception at the time of the crash, as the text thread was open during the time of the crash.”
The trooper interviewed Firth Fire Captain Greg Jolley, who responded to the scene of the crash, the report says.
Paraphrasing, Jolley told the trooper that Grisham said, “I screwed up, I was on my phone texting, I’m such an idiot.”
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office in its news release said that it immediately recused itself from any official involvement in the investigation into the incident because one of its deputies was involved and asked the Idaho State Police to investigate.
“This is a customary practice to ensure that an investigation is unbiased, independent and free of any conflicts of interest,” the sheriff’s office news release said. “As is also customary, our office commenced an internal investigation, which by design requires us to wait until the criminal investigation is complete, so as to avoid interfering in that process.”
The Idaho State Police recommended criminal charges following the investigation, which concluded Tuesday, the sheriff’s office news release said.
Also to avoid any conflict of interest, the Bingham County Prosecutor’s Office recused itself from handling the criminal proceedings against Grisham and the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office was appointed as a special prosecutor instead.
“We thank the amazing public that we serve for their patience while we have navigated this matter,” the sheriff’s office said in its news release. “We have attempted to maintain the appropriate level of transparency, while respecting due process. We offer our sincere condolences to the Beal family and all those affected.”
Grisham, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was not arrested in connection to this investigation, and was instead issued a summons to appear in court. She is expected to make her initial appearance during an arraignment hearing on Aug. 12 at the Bingham County Courthouse in Blackfoot, court records show.
If convicted of the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, she faces up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Most Popular
Comments / 0