Trucker receives $1.3 million — and apology — after Washington trooper wrongly accused him of causing crash

A trucker received a written apology and more than a million dollars following a 2022 incident during which he was incorrectly accused of causing a crash with a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper.

WSP paid trucker Shawn Foutch a $1.3 million settlement and issued him a formal apology letter, according to local outlet King 5.

In the letter, WSP apologized for the damage to Foutch’s reputation as a professional truck driver resulting from the agency’s handling of a crash caused by one of their own troopers.

Foutch was hauling U.S. mail when he was involved in a crash on northbound I-5 in Seattle in August 2022.

The crash occurred while rookie WSP Trooper Cadet Phirawat Apisit used his cruiser to perform a “rolling slowdown” maneuver, driving across multiple lanes in order to try to help a fellow trooper get back on the interstate following a DUI traffic stop on the right shoulder of I-5.

Apisit’s cruiser struck the semi even as Foutch tried to move left to give the police cruiser more room. Both Foutch and Apisit were injured in the crash.

Trooper T. J. Johnson was the sergeant at the crash scene and indicated in his report that “I thought I could detect an odor of intoxicants” coming from Foutch.

Though Foutch said he hadn’t consumed alcohol in decades due to diabetes, he was subjected to a field sobriety test, a breathalyzer, and a blood draw at a hospital, all of which came back negative.

Foutch was cited months after the crash for “negligent driving second degree” even though dash cam video showed the cruiser cutting off his truck.

Foutch hired a lawyer, who in turn contacted a WSP collision tech who was at the crash site. The crash tech claimed that Apisit did not properly conduct the rolling slowdown maneuver. Following this and many other legal maneuverings, the negligent driving citation was later dropped.

Trooper Johnson was reassigned as a result of the incident. He retired from the WSP in late 2023.

For more, including dash cam footage of the crash from Foutch’s truck, see the video below.