The death of Salt River police officer Clayton Townsend in January led to a new law banning texting and driving in Arizona. And now, new information from the incident report released by the Arizona Department of Public Safety reveals more about what happened the night of the crash.
The driver, Jerry Sanstead, admits he was on his phone moments before hitting Townsend on the Loop 101 just south of McDowell Road, but he also says he may have passed out.
A key witness told detectives Sanstead drove past his van five to ten seconds before the collision occurred. The witness says Sanstead did not appear to be “manipulating” his phone, but the screen was illuminated and Sanstead was looking towards the center console.
The witness says he immediately got out of his vehicle to help the victims in the collision. He says he also saw Sanstead looking for his phone.
After the crash, DPS says Sanstead admitted he had been texting his wife using a text-to-talk feature on his phone, but he still had to read the incoming messages.
He sustained minor injuries and was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix on vehicular manslaughter charges. However, once he was there, the police report states Sanstead suffered an unknown medical condition and fell and struck his head.
A nurse at the hospital where he was taken told detectives he suffered an injury to the left side of his tongue from biting it and indicated this type of injury was consistent with seizures, but details surrounding Sanstead’s medical report are redacted.
While Sanstead was being treated at the hospital, he spoke to detectives again and said he was still “trying to figure out what happened during the collision and he might have passed out.” Sanstead says he was in the process of a cleanse and that his stomach had been hurting the morning of the deadly collision.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case and has not made a decision on whether or not Sanstead will be criminally charged. He was released from jail after posting bond. Detectives say Sanstead was not impaired the night of the deadly crash.