Prosecutor decides to not file more charges in case of boy's death
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
COEUR d'ALENE — No further charges will be filed against a 23-year-old man who was driving when his car struck and killed an 8-year-old Post Falls boy in a Post Falls neighborhood last year, Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said this morning.
Chadd Webster was driving on May 2, 2016, when his car stuck and killed Phillip Geisinger in the Pine Villa neighborhood.
McHugh said his office has been in contact with the Geisinger family during the course of the investigation.
"Our thanks go to them for their patience and understanding," McHugh said. "This is a tragedy and our condolences go out to the family."
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the case, requested to the Prosecutor's Office that vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges be pursued, but McHugh's office ruled there was not enough evidence to support the allegations.
Webster was charged with possession of heroin, a felony, and was sentenced after pleading guilty to that charge. He spent 11 weeks and three days in jail. He is on supervised probation after being sentenced on July 22, 2016. He was also charged with driving without privileges, a misdemeanor, and plead guilty on May 13, 2016.
An accident reconstruction conducted by the KCSO revealed that Webster was traveling at approximately 35 mph. in a 25 mph zone at the time he began braking his vehicle.
However, it was determined that based on path of travel of Webster’s vehicle and the path of travel of Phillip’s bicycle, even if Webster had been traveling the speed limit, his car would have struck Phillip.
Lab results from blood taken from Webster showed the presence of methamphetamine and heroin. However, shortly after the accident Webster was evaluated by a sheriff’s deputy who determined that Webster was not under the influence of the drugs in violation of law. It was uncertain how long the meth and heroin had been in Webster’s system.
To prove a felony vehicular manslaughter charge, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a driver was a significant cause contributing to the death of a person because of committing an unlawful act with gross negligence.
In this case, the unlawful act would have been driving under the influence of drugs or speeding, McHugh said. However, Webster was evaluated by a deputy sheriff and was not deemed to be under the influence of the drugs in his system. With regards to the speeding, it was determined that the speeding was not a significant cause contributing to the death of Phillip, McHugh said.
To prove a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver was a significant cause contributing to the death of a person because of committing an unlawful act without gross negligence.
"It’s a rare circumstance, but possible, where conduct that collectively looks like it should result in charges falls outside the scope of our criminal statutes," McHugh said. "In that situation, it is our obligation to refrain from filing charges. Here the extensive investigation revealed information that results in a conclusion that no further crimes can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt."
McHugh said the crash reconstruction investigation was complex and took some time. Further, the analysis of Webster’s blood for narcotics required a second analysis after initially being sent to the Idaho State Laboratory.