Helm pleads not guilty in five Schrock deaths

Deer Park businessman Clifford Lee Helm stood in Spokane County Superior Court Monday and denied five times that he is guilty of vehicular homicide in deaths of five children last November.

Helm, 56, of 29301 N. Cedar Road, allegedly was using a cell phone when his Ford F-250 pickup struck another Ford F-250 carrying six members of a Chewelah-area family.

Deputy Prosecutor Clint Francis didn’t object to Helm remaining free pending trial if he is subject to standard restrictions plus a requirement that he not have his cell phone turned on while driving. Helm’s attorney, Carl Oreskovich, objected, saying Helm should have the same right to use a cell phone on the road as anyone else. Judge Maryann Moreno disagreed.

Helm spoke only to say he is not guilty in the death of 12-year-old Chewelah-area resident Carmen Schrock. Nor in the deaths of Jana Schrock, 10, or Carinna Schrock, 8. Nor in the deaths of the girls’ younger brothers: Jerry, 5, and Craig, 2.

Helm also said he is not guilty of vehicular assault in the severe injuries the children’s father, Jeffrey Schrock suffered when his northbound pickup crossed the median of U.S. Highway 395, just north of Hatch Road, and collided with Jeffrey Schrock’s southbound pickup.

The only member of Schrock’s family to be spared was his pregnant wife, Carolyn, who wasn’t in their pickup. Carolyn Schrock gave birth to a daughter, Jolynn, six weeks after the crash.

Washington State Patrol investigators found no evidence that alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription medicines, medical conditions or mechanical failure contributed to the collision.

However, detectives found a cell phone in Helm’s truck. Court documents say the phone was in use when Helm drove 244 feet in the wrong direction before smashing into the Schrock family’s truck.