Still no trial in Schrock deaths
Two years after the deaths of five children in a vehicle collision north of Spokane, the man charged with causing the tragedy is still awaiting trial.
Though the parents of the children have forgiven him, Clifford Lee Helm is scheduled to go to trial before Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque on Feb. 25.
Helm, 57, of Deer Park, was driving a 1999 Ford pickup truck north on U.S. Highway 395 on Nov. 1, 2005, when the vehicle twice crossed the median into oncoming southbound traffic and crashed head-on into a 1986 Ford pickup driven by Jeffrey Schrock.
Schrock’s children, Carmen, 12, Jana, 10, Carinna, 8, Jerryl, 5, and Craig, 2, were killed. Schrock and Helm have recovered from serious injuries from the crash.
Nearly a year ago, Helm pleaded not guilty to five counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault.
Schrock and his wife, Carolyn, who was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash, were out of the country on Thursday and unavailable for comment. The family previously has said through a family spokesman, though, that they have no wish to see Helm prosecuted.
“Because of their honor and respect for the officers of the law, the Schrock family does not stand in opposition to them performing their God-given responsibilities,” family friend Daniel Hertzler told The Spokesman-Review in October 2006. “However, because of their love, forgiveness and friendship with the Helm family, they have no desire to see Cliff Helm prosecuted for the accident of Nov. 1, 2005.”
Spokane County Deputy prosecutor Clint Francis said Thursday that the family’s position on whether Helm should be prosecuted has been misconstrued and has no bearing on why it has taken so long for the trial to begin.
“They never opposed prosecution,” Francis said. “Somehow somebody got that into their head, and that’s not the case. They don’t want bad things to happen to Clifford Helm, but that does not mean they don’t want the prosecution to proceed.”
Francis said the Schrocks will testify against Helm in the trial, but that their faith and capacity for forgiveness had touched him personally.
He said that trial delays since charges were filed were unavoidable and largely due to the busy schedule of the defense attorney. Carl Oreskovich, Helm’s attorney, did not return phone calls from a reporter seeking comment on Thursday.
“The prosecutor’s office has not asked for continuances,” Francis said. “There was a year of investigation before we were able to file the charges. Each case has a life of its own, and this one is so complex.”
The prosecutor’s office filed charges in the case after a nearly yearlong special inquiry into the case because Helm refused to talk to investigators, Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker said last year.
Toxicology tests on Helm’s blood were negative for drugs and alcohol. Investigators built the case against him on witnesses, evidence from the scene and cell phone records, the newspaper has reported. Tucker said Helm was using a cell phone before or during the collision.