A Cochise County sheriff’s deputy involved in a fatal on-duty accident with a pedestrian last September has been back to work for quite some time, which indicates he is not suspected of criminal wrongdoing when his patrol vehicle struck and killed a Sierra Vista resident.
Reyna Maria Vos was jaywalking the evening of Sept. 4, 2021 across State Route 92 near the intersection with State Route 90 when she was struck by Deputy Clayton Terrazas’ vehicle. ADOT records show the intersection is the busiest in Cochise County.
The accident was assigned to SVPD Det. Joshua Nicola, who sent a sample of Terrazas’ blood to the DPS crime lab for examination. Several people familiar with such police-involved accidents tell Arizona Daily Independent that the fact Terrazas was back to work after a short period of administrative leave indicates there was no suspicion of impairment by drug or alcohol use.
The blood test results finally came back in early January, at which time Nicola forwarded his investigation file to Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre for review. McIntyre has three options based on Nicola’s work: send the matter back to the detective for additional information, issue a no-fault finding, or take the case to a grand jury for consideration of charges.
As of press time, the county attorney’s office still has the SVPD referral. This further indicates no suspicion of wrongdoing by Terrazas, according to an attorney who specializes in representing peace officers in disciplinary matters.
The attorney explained that the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office would not allow Terrazas to return to duty if the investigation suggested misconduct or if the blood work warranted criminal charges. Doing so would create a serious liability for the county if Terrazas were involved in another incident.
MORE ABOUT THE ACCIDENT: HERE
