Failed eye tests trigger manslaughter charge

KENNEWICK – A church pastor has been charged with a traffic death in 2003, now that a lawsuit has uncovered evidence that he knew he couldn’t see well enough to be driving, prosecutors say.

The second-degree manslaughter charge was brought Wednesday in Benton County Superior Court against the Rev. Randall R. Foos, 57, longtime pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church. He is scheduled to appear in court May 11.

The Tri-City Herald reported that Foos resigned from the church Nov. 1 and according to a publication of the church’s Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod has been designated since Jan. 1 as “on leave – disability.”

The case stems from the death of Sara Casey, 19, who was riding with a friend when she was struck from behind by Foos’ Jeep Grand Cherokee as he drove home from church. She died six days later at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane.

Foos said he tried to avoid the women, but witnesses told police they never saw him change lanes or try to avoid them.

In October 2004 prosecutors decided not to file charges, saying they lacked sufficient evidence to show a crime had been committed, but the dead woman’s parents, Lori and Terrance Casey, sued Foos for wrongful death and negligence.

As a result of the case, which Foos’ insurance company settled last October for $200,000, prosecutors learned that an ophthalmologist and two optometrists were set to testify that Foos, a diabetic, had failed eye tests earlier in 2003.

Lori Casey said she and her husband plan to seek legislation that would require optometrists and other eye professionals to report drivers who fail to meet state vision standards.