Spokane7
61°
December 10, 2010 in City
Driver convicted in crash with cops
Woman broadsided unmarked patrol car
A jury on Thursday convicted a Spokane woman of three counts of vehicular assault for a crash that injured three police detectives last summer.
Tonia S. Vansant, 38, faces 33 to 43 months in prison when she’s sentenced Jan. 6, said Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady.
Vansant has been in jail since July 16, when she ran a red light at Division Street and Sharp Avenue and broadsided an unmarked patrol car driven by Detective Mark Burbridge of the Spokane Police Department’s major crimes unit.
Burbridge strained his back, sexual assault Detective Jan Pogachar broke her pelvis and Douglas Orr, a computer forensics specialist for the sexual assault unit, suffered a perforated lung and fractured ribs, collarbone and sternum.
All have returned to work, though Cpl. Dave Adams said Burbridge likely will undergo surgery soon.
Vansant had traces of cocaine in her blood system, but her public defender, Jeff Compton, disputed whether she was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
The jury of seven women and five men couldn’t agree whether Vansant was intoxicated or whether she was driving in a reckless manner, but all agreed she was driving with a disregard for the safety of others and convicted her of the three felonies.
Vansant cried and told her family she loved them before being taken back to jail in handcuffs. One woman cried and said “she has five kids; it was just an accident,” but family members declined to speak to a reporter afterward.
The trial began Tuesday morning. The jury deliberated for about three hours beginning Wednesday afternoon.
Sex trafficking suspects released as probe continues 
Snowman on December 10 at 6:37 a.m.
While it is true that Vansant acted irresponsibly, it is also clear that Detective Mark Burbridge did not actively employ defensive driving tactics; had he done so, the accident would not have occurred. Therefore, he was also accountable for the injuries to himself and his fellow detectives. As a past Defensive Driving instructor for the National Safety Council, I know we are all charged with our own safety as well as the safety of all other drivers and passengers within our driving environment. The key lesson here is…..drivers should NEVER ASSUME that drivers will obey traffic control devices.
BitofBacon on December 10 at 8:16 a.m.
What was he supposed to do, wait at the green light? Nonsense!
TheRoyLarsen on December 10 at 10:11 a.m.
There’s always some guy that’s going to complain about being hung with used rope, huh Bit? The police just can’t be completely innocent, can they? Even when officers are off-duty, taking a break, or sleeping, there’s someone out there doing something that could have been prevented had they not been off-duty, taking a break, or sleeping. I think I’m starting to get it.
Follow my profound logic here. When someone screws up Detective Burbridge’s order at the drive thru, it’s not their fault. Detective Burbridge should have supervised their construction of his sandwich. It’s HIS fault the order was wrong. I was an instructor at the Defensive Drive-Thru School based in Skokie, IL. It is OUR responsibility to make sure drive-thru workers get our orders correct. Got a 29 year-old worker who can barely work an intercom and smokes weed? That’s right. It’s YOUR problem!
It was Detective Burbridge’s fault all along that Vansant had cocaine in her system. Whistling down Division in the far left lane obscured from his sight. You guessed it. HIS fault. And what about that other Detective in the back seat who ended up having to have plates and screws installed in his shoulder after the crash. He should have gotten out of the car, walked into the intersection even while the light was green for Detective Burbridge, looked up and down Division, then manually wave Detective Burbridge through the intersection. Some defensive passenger he turned out to be, huh?
Poor Detective Burbridge. He has to protect the helpless and then protect himself from the clueless. Did I tell you I was an instructor at the National School for the Clueless in Spokane, WA?
BitofBacon on December 10 at 12:50 p.m.
TheRoy-you have hit it out of the park today!
TheRoyLarsen on December 10 at 1:59 p.m.
That’s what I’m talkin’ about, Bit. I’m takin’ the rest of the day off. My work here is done.