Firefighter wasn’t impaired

A Spokane firefighter involved in a triple-fatal crash earlier this year showed no signs of impairment from drugs or alcohol, according to a 580-page investigative report obtained Friday by The Spokesman-Review.

A drug recognition expert who responded to the crash scene on Jan. 20 tested David Batty’s eye movement and coordination, both of which were firm, and observed he had clear eyes and steady speech, according to the investigative report compiled by the Washington State Patrol.

WSP’s investigation into the crash was forwarded to the Spokane County prosecutor’s office on April 18 without a recommendation for charges. A decision by the prosecutor on whether to charge Batty is still pending.

On Jan. 20, Batty clipped the rear of a van on U.S. Highway 2, sending it spinning into an oncoming pickup. Killed were Gregory Stueck, 37; Kalen Hearn, 22; and Michael Edwards, 51.

Batty, a lieutenant with the Spokane Fire Department, has been on medical leave since Aug. 28 due to an on-the-job injury. He told crash scene investigators he was under a doctor’s care and had been prescribed two painkillers, a muscle relaxant and a sleep aid following back surgery.

According to the investigative report, the last medication he’d taken was the night before the crash.

On the morning of the crash, Nancy A. Olson was on Highway 2. She told investigators she saw a truck fitting the description of Batty’s Dodge Ram pull out of a driveway, fishtailing as he pulled onto the highway. The roads were covered with compact snow and ice.

Olson said she also saw the van, driven by Edwards, fishtailing and going faster than it should for the conditions. Stueck and Hearn were passengers in that van.

According to the investigative report, both the van and Batty’s truck were traveling about 35 to 40 mph.

Batty told investigators he was headed to Spokane to meet his daughter. He felt like he was a safe distance from the van he was following when he saw the brake lights go on, according to the investigative report.

“I slammed on the brakes and realized I was gonna hit them, so I decided that I was just gonna opt to go in the ditch,” Batty said in the report. “I thought I was going to miss him.”

But Batty’s truck clipped the left rear of the van, sending it into a spin.

The van spun into an oncoming lane and was struck by a truck going under the 60 mph speed limit, the report noted.

A trooper thought Edwards might have been responsible for the crash, according to the investigative report. But Batty’s previous driving record was a concern.

Batty was convicted of vehicular homicide in 1993. He lost control of his pickup and swerved in front of a Jeep headed south on Highway 2 near Elk in September 1992, The Spokesman-Review previously reported. The Jeep’s driver, David Cole, 49, of Newport, died at the scene. Batty’s blood alcohol level was 0.24 percent.

Batty, who has been with the Fire Department since 1983, was reinstated after he got out of prison in 1995 by then-City Manager Roger Crum, according to previous news articles.

But Batty, despite nine previous years with the department, had to start over his training as if he was a rookie again, officials said. For five years after being reinstated, he had to pass weekly drug and alcohol tests. Chief Bobby Williams said in a previous interview that Batty successfully completed the probation period.

Several Fire Department co-workers have commented that Batty “is a great guy,” who has become a devoted Christian and no longer drinks alcohol.

“I’m just horrified that it happened, you know. I mean, it’s just a terrible thing,” Batty said to WSP Trooper Eugene Trevino during an interview about the Jan. 20 crash. “I’m so sorry that it happened. This is a terrible thing.”