最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥� The cause of a Bellefontaine Neighbors police officer鈥檚 death in 2015 had long been blamed on a driver distracted by her cellphone.

Sgt. Peggy Vassallo was struck and killed Aug. 24, 2015, while helping a driver she herself had just rear-ended while on the way to work in morning rush-hour traffic on Lindbergh Boulevard near the old Jamestown Mall.

Six months after the crash, prosecutors charged the driver, Latonia Waites, saying she was distracted by her cellphone when she hit Vassallo with her Ford Fusion. Waites was charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a felony that could have sent her to prison for up to four years.

In September, more than four years later, Waites, 37, reached a plea deal with 最新杏吧原创 County Prosecutor Wesley Bell鈥檚 office that reduced Waites鈥� charge to misdemeanor careless and imprudent driving. Waites, who has no criminal history, received two years鈥� probation.

Days after the plea, .鈥�

, including that 鈥渆xhaustive investigations鈥� by his office and 最新杏吧原创 County police blamed the crash on intense morning sun glare, and that Waites could not have been distracted by her cellphone because she hadn鈥檛 used it for three minutes and 43 seconds before the crash 鈥� an estimated 2 miles from the scene.

However, police reports recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch 鈥� including a detailed forensic examination of Waites鈥� cellphone 鈥� show Waites made a call, created and deleted texts, snapped screenshots, opened a prayer application, pulled up a website, checked Facebook and activated Siri in the moments before the crash. Some of those actions occurred within the window of time Bell鈥檚 office said she wasn鈥檛 using her phone.

To this day, questions remain as to why Bell鈥檚 office provided an account that is undercut by the findings of the forensic examination.

Vassallo, who was married, grew up in a police family and was the daughter of a longtime 最新杏吧原创 police lieutenant, Edwin J. Kaelin. In 1974, the then-13-year-old and her father were scavenging for a Christmas tree on a family estate near Florissant when they found the remains of two murdered RadioShack workers abducted weeks before. The discovery led her to a law enforcement career.

She had served the Bellefontaine Neighbors community as an officer for about 15 years before she was killed that August at the age of 53.

Exactly one minute before the crash is the last verified user-generated action on Waites鈥� iPhone, the police examination said. It鈥檚 unclear from police reports if three subsequent actions, the last of which triggered Siri, the phone鈥檚 digital assistant, was done by Waites or the phone itself.

鈥淎dditional activity was documented, but due to the proprietary nature of the files, we are unable to determine the specifics that caused those modifications, and cannot say with certainty if they were modified by the user or the system,鈥� 最新杏吧原创 County police forensic investigator Stephanie Eckinger wrote in her Aug. 25, 2015, report.

鈥淚 was saying a prayer for one of my church members,鈥� Waites told a detective within 30 minutes of the crash. 鈥淚 looked down for just a second and it was a few cars that had come to an abrupt stop, and I tried to stop but to keep from hitting the vehicle, I swerved around, but when I swerved around, the officer was running across the street.鈥�

鈥淎nd I couldn鈥檛 slow down enough, so I struck her,鈥� she said, sobbing. 鈥淚 hit her, and that was it.鈥�

said there was 鈥渘o evidence of negligent or aberrant driving鈥� by Waites, who 鈥渞epeatedly stated that she never saw the victim because of the glare of the sun.鈥�

However, it鈥檚 not clear where such an explanation came from. Though witnesses at the crash scene cited glare as a factor, there is no mention of Waites blaming the sun in police reports or in her only statement to police.

Waites could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Bryan Johnson, said he didn鈥檛 know the origin of the claim about sun glare, explaining 鈥渢hat was never a statement we made in this case.鈥� The plea deal, he said, relied on 鈥渁n analysis of the totality of facts in this case.鈥�

鈥淲e believe there was a good, just disposition in this matter,鈥� said Johnson, adding that Waites is 鈥渧ery distraught鈥� over Vassallo鈥檚 death and 鈥渨anted her prayers to go out to that family.鈥�

Bell was not available for an interview but his operations chief, Tim Swope, said that 鈥渓egally, 60 seconds isn鈥檛 much different than three minutes and 43 seconds.鈥� Swope could not pinpoint the origin of Waites鈥� reported claim about sun glare but noted witness statements at the scene about the rising sun obscuring visibility for eastbound drivers.

鈥淲e just simply cannot prove that the defendant was on the phone at the time of the occurrence,鈥� Swope said, adding that several senior staff attorneys 鈥渇elt it was more appropriate of guilty for the careless and imprudent driving.鈥�

The 最新杏吧原创 County police investigation concluded Waites was going between 34 and 40 mph in a 45 mph zone when she hit Vassallo. Waites relinquished her cellphone and consented to blood and urine samples, which revealed no drugs or alcohol.

The deadly collision came after Vassallo had rear-ended another driver in her Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Vassallo was standing in a right-turn lane and reporting the crash by phone to a dispatcher when Waites knocked her more than 80 feet down the road.

鈥淲here is the accident at?鈥� the dispatcher asked Vassallo, according to a transcript of the 911 call.

鈥淯h, let鈥檚 see, uh, Old Jamestown and, um, Lindbergh in front of Jamestown Mall,鈥� Vassallo said.

鈥淥ld Jamestown and Lindbergh in front of the mall?鈥� the dispatcher said.

鈥淯h huh,鈥� Vassallo said.

鈥淎nd how many vehicles are involved?鈥� the dispatcher said.

鈥淭wo. Oh my God!鈥� (unintelligible sounds)

鈥淚s anyone trapped in any of the vehicles? Hello? OK, we lost them. Old Jamestown and Lindbergh. We will get them out there ... Hello? Ma鈥檃m?鈥�

Waites did not hit the brakes before striking Vassallo, the investigation revealed.

鈥淪gt. Vassallo observed Latonia鈥檚 vehicle approaching, not slowing, and attempted to run to the shoulder of the road for safety when she was struck and killed,鈥� the police report said.

The forensic investigation also revealed that within 10 seconds after the crash, Waites was 鈥渞apidly exiting all open applications in order to call 911.鈥�

Vassallo died at DePaul Health Center about 3陆 hours later. Her family last year settled a lawsuit with Waites鈥� insurance company for $150,000.

Cellphone-related crashes . Missouri is one of four states in the United States without a texting ban for all drivers, according to the .

鈥淭hese cellphone accidents are just as bad as people drinking and driving,鈥� said Vassallo鈥檚 brother, Michael Kaelin, 69.

People like Waites should be given a second chance, he said, but that shouldn鈥檛 include an investigative process that鈥檚 鈥渄istorting the facts.鈥�