Trooper in fatal crash was drunk

Friday, October 13, 2006

October 13, 2006 -- Test results released on Friday showed the trooper involved in the fatal crash in Gallipolis last month was legally drunk. The Ohio Highway Patrol is now investigating into where and when Joshua Risner drank alcohol while on duty.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A trooper was legally drunk when the patrol car he was driving crashed with a pickup, killing himself, another trooper and the other driver, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Friday. A blood test on trooper Joshua Risner showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent, the level considered drunk under Ohio law, the patrol said.

Neither Risner's passenger, trooper Sgt. Dale Holcomb, nor the driver of the pickup, Lori Smith, had been drinking before the crash last month near Gallipolis in southeast Ohio, the patrol said at a news conference. "Putting it mildly, this is a devastating event to the Highway Patrol, to law enforcement," spokesman Lt. Col. William Costas said.

The patrol has started a separate investigation into where and when Risner drank alcohol, he said. The trooper had not been disciplined for alcohol use during his seven-year career with the patrol, Costas said.

Risner was driving 60 to 71 miles per hour with the car's emergency lights and siren activated when he lost control and spun into the opposite lane, the patrol's investigation found. The speed limits change between 55 and 40 mph in that area of the road, the patrol said. The patrol car hit the pickup truck driven by Smith, who was traveling 10 to 20 miles per hour and was moving over to the right as the patrol car approached. Risner, near the end of his shift, had just picked up Holcomb at his house. Holcomb was beginning his shift.

Patrol investigators believe the troopers were on their way to help an off-duty trooper headed to a local hospital with a sick baby. The patrol had previously determined the troopers hadn't been dispatched to any emergency calls.

Investigators said both vehicles were burned in a fire fed by gasoline from the patrol car's ruptured tank.

Smith's blood showed a trace of marijuana, but it was below the legal limit for impaired driving and investigators don't believe she contributed to the accident.

The patrol found out about Risner's blood-alcohol level Friday. Costas said an earlier test of blood drawn from Risner's neck was negative. The test results released Friday were from blood drawn deeper inside the body.

A message seeking comment was left with the Ohio State Troopers Association. Family members could not be reached for comment, with some calls going unanswered and telephone listings unavailable for others.

On the Net: Highway Patrol: http://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/

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