A deputy has been charged after a crash killed a man. Court documents reveal she was allegedly texting while driving.
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BLACKFOOT — A Bingham County Sheriff’s Office deputy involved in a fatal crash in February is now facing a criminal charge.
Stephanie Grisham, 38, has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, according to a court filing last week.
The two-vehicle crash happened Feb. 1 on Wolverine Road west of the 600 North and 1100 East intersection near Goshen in Bingham County.
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office requested Idaho State Police investigate the crash because it involved one of their own deputies.
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Court documents
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Idaho State Police, Grisham was traveling westbound on Wolverine Road in a Bingham County Sheriff’s Office black Ford Explorer patrol SUV.
Robert Beal, 80, of Shelley, was driving eastbound on Wolverine Road in a Dodge Ram pickup with his 76-year-old wife in the passenger seat.
Dash camera footage from the patrol vehicle showed the deputy drove into the oncoming eastbound lane and hit the Dodge Ram head on, documents said.
Following the crash, both vehicles came to a stop off the roadway. All occupants were trapped in their vehicles and were extricated by medical personnel.
Beal died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash and his wife was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Grisham was transported by ambulance to a hospital with critical injuries.
It’s unclear how long the passenger or the deputy took to recover from the crash.
Court documents said the ISP detective reviewed the dashcam footage and compared it to the text message thread on Grisham’s cell phone. The trooper observed there was text message activity on the phone.
Camera footage showed the patrol car veer to the left and go into the oncoming lane of traffic.
The detective conducted an interview with a Firth Fire Captain who responded to the scene of the crash. The captain told the detective that Grisham had said (paraphrasing): “I screwed up. I was on my phone texting. I’m such an idiot,” documents said.
ISP said the deputy had approximately nine years of patrol experience.
What’s next
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office provided this statement to EastIdahoNews.com on Monday:
“Now that the criminal investigation is complete and a charging decision has been made, we can proceed to finalize our internal investigation.”
According to court records, there was a motion for an appointment of a special prosecutor in the case due to a conflict of interest. Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood was appointed and declined to comment on the pending case when contacted by EastIdahoNews.com.
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Grisham’s attorney, Dennis Wilkinson, but he did not have a statement. However, he did say that they filed a notice of appearance and a not-guilty plea last week.
The misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine.
Grisham’s arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 12 at 3 p.m. at the Bingham County Courthouse. She has been summoned to appear in court, meaning she is not in jail.
Though Grisham has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean she committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.