Drunk Woman Crashes Onto Train Tracks Before DUI Arrest in Colfax, WA

On February 18, 2023 at approximately 7:35 PM, Deputy Randy Miller with the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office observed a vehicle 2008 Dodge Caliber that had driven onto the train tracks near the Colfax Grange fuel pumps. He watched the vehicle for about 3 minutes and did not see anyone attempting to exit, but he later observed a female run to the car from the area of N Morton Street and Tyler Street. After she got into the car seat, Deputy Miller could see what appeared to be exhaust coming from the vehicle as if the driver was attempting to leave.

Deputy Miller drove near the vehicle but did not activate his emergency lights before approaching it. He made contact with the female in the driver seat, who was identified as Shannon. The front of the vehicle was centered on the railroad tracks and the passenger front tire was over the rail. Shannon told Deputy Miller that she was coming from Idaho and that she was headed to Yakima, Washington. When she was asked where she was, she claimed that she was in Clearwater even though she was in Colfax.

As he was speaking with Shannon, he detected the odor of alcohol and observed other indicators of impairment. He was initially confused how her vehicle got on the train tracks because of the fencing around the tracks, so he looked at the tire marks to retrace her steps. Colfax Police Officer Joseph McCollum also spoke with Shannon as Deputy Miller tried retracing her steps. Shannon was then asked to perform field sobriety exercises, and she agreed to do so.

The first field sobriety exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Shannon kept turning her head and failed to follow instructions, so the test could not be completed. Around this time, he observed blood coming from her right pinky finger, so he retrieved his first aid kit and gave her a gauze pad to clean the blood. The next exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Shannon did not touch heel-to-toe on each step and took an incorrect number of steps.

For safety reasons, Deputy Miller terminated the field sobriety exercises and placed Shannon under arrest. Since her finger was bleeding again, he called for EMS to arrive on scene and take care of the bleeding. After EMS addressed her wound, Shannon was transported to the Whitman County Jail for further processing. At the jail, Deputy Miller read her the implied consent warning, but she refused to submit breath samples. She was then turned over to a Correction Officer to be placed in a holding cell.

Deputy Miller applied for a search warrant to compel Shannon to submit to a blood draw, and Whitman County District Court Judge John Hart granted the warrant at approximately 10:20 PM. The warrant was read to Shannon, and Jim Thompson with Volunteer Fireman Inc. came on scene and attempted to draw blood from her. Deputy Miller than transported Shannon to the Whitman Community Hospital for a blood raw, but they were still unable to obtain blood after 5 attempts. While being transported to the hospital, Shannon told Deputy Miller that she had been kicked out from a friend’s house after drinking there, and then she decided to drive even though she probably should not have done so.

Deputy Miller then transported Shannon back to the Whitman County Jail where she was turned over to a Corrections Officer. Sergeant Cooper was unable to locate a vehicle insurance card insider Shannon’s car, and it was revealed that the vehicle’s registration was suspended in Idaho. Shannon was booked into the jail and cited for DUI (RCW 46.61.502) and driving with a suspended vehicle registration (RCW 46.29.605.6).

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