A truck driver received a written apology and over a million dollars following a 2022 incident in which he was wrongly blamed for a crash involving a Washington State Patrol (WSP) officer.
The WSP settled with truck driver Shawn Foutch for $1.3 million and sent him a formal apology letter, as reported by King 5. In the letter, the WSP expressed regret for the harm done to Foutch’s reputation as a professional driver due to their mishandling of the accident, which was actually caused by one of their officers.
Foutch was transporting U.S. mail on I-5 north in Seattle in August 2022 when the crash happened. Rookie WSP Trooper Cadet Phirawat Apisit was executing a “rolling slowdown” maneuver, driving across lanes to assist another trooper returning to the interstate after a DUI traffic stop. During the maneuver, Apisit’s cruiser collided with Foutch’s semi, even though Foutch was trying to move over to avoid the patrol car. Both men were injured in the accident.
At the scene, Trooper T.J. Johnson, the supervising officer, reported that he thought he could smell alcohol on Foutch. Although Foutch, who hadn’t consumed alcohol in years due to diabetes, was given field sobriety, breathalyzer, and blood tests, all results came back negative.
Despite video evidence showing the patrol car cutting in front of Foutch’s truck, Foutch was cited for “negligent driving second degree” several months after the crash. He hired an attorney, who worked with a WSP collision expert present at the scene. The expert confirmed that Apisit had mishandled the rolling slowdown maneuver. After legal proceedings, the negligent driving charge against Foutch was dropped.
As a result of the incident, Trooper Johnson was reassigned, and he later retired from the WSP in late 2023.
For more information, including footage from Foutch’s dash cam, see the video below.
