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Albuquerque police Sgt. Adam Casaus was traveling around 65 mph when he blew through a red light in the early morning hours of Feb. 10, just before he slammed into a car containing two sisters, killing one.
That’s according to documents released Thursday by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, which also this week presented the district attorney with vehicular homicide charges against the APD sergeant.
The documents also contain witness accounts that refute Casaus’ initial claims that he had been pursuing a vehicle when he entered the intersection at Paseo del Norte and Eagle Ranch NW and that he had yielded and turned on both his lights and police siren before he ran the red light.
CASAUS: Accused of going through red light
“I found it a little curious that he wasn’t yielding at all to go through the intersection,” one witness told investigators. “And then I saw his car spin, and that wasn’t good.”
The investigation also found that the victims’ vehicle was entering the intersection on a green light and traveling less than 40 mph, within the speed limit, when the sisters were struck. The driver, 19-year-old Lindsay Browder, was seriously injured and her sister, 21-year-old Ashley Browder, died from her injuries.
Lindsay Browder also told police that she had the radio off to allow Ashley to sleep, and she made no mention of hearing a siren. Apart from that, she remembers nothing of the crash, except seeing her parents later that morning at the hospital, according to the documents.
Two witnesses also told investigators that they didn’t see Casaus pursuing a vehicle at the time of the crash. That is contrary to Casaus’ claim to investigators that he was chasing a car that was driving erratically.
“I was (unintelligible) catch a driver that was driving in a manner I believe to be dangerous,” Casaus told BCSO investigators, according to interview transcripts. “… I put my lights and sirens on to clear the intersection and I did slow down from my speed.”
The witnesses also told police they didn’t see Casaus yield or turn on his police sirens, though one witness was listening to the radio and speaking with her son at the time of the crash.
Additionally, the sergeant’s dispatch logs made no mention of a vehicle pursuit at the time of the crash, which happened hours after Casaus’ shift ended. The sergeant told investigators he was visiting his wife who worked as a BCSO dispatcher at her office after his shift. Surveillance cameras captured Casaus leaving his wife’s place of work around 1:24 a.m. Police arrived at the crash scene shortly after 2 a.m.
Casaus’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 9 in District Court.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
-- Email the reporter at plohmann@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3943
