Tragedy for Ephrata family after car prowl leads to crash that killed girl
A green Dodge Durango, whose driver was fleeing from a suspected car prowl in Ephrata last week, crashed into a Chevy SUV pickup carrying the family of Grant County Corrections Officer Justin Grubb.
EPHRATA — An eight-year-old girl was killed and five persons injured due to a violent 2-vehicle collision in Ephrata Wednesday evening of last week.
The crash, which was the by-product of a suspected car prowl, brought tragedy to to the Grant County Sheriff family, Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones reported
The deceased child was Audrey Grubb of Ephrata. She was riding in a pickup her father, Justin Grubb, 33, of Ephrata was driving. It was struck by a Dodge Durango, whose driver was fleeing police, Jones said.
Justin Grubb, a Grant County Jail corrections officer, was taken by ambulance to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake with multiple injuries. Another passenger in the pickup, Elizabeth Mills, 35, of East Wenatchee was critically injured and was flown by LifeFlight to Providence-Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.
According to Jones, two passengers in the Durango sustained non-life threatening injuries and were transported to local hospitals. They were identified as Jaucina Skotland, 26, of Moses Lake and Sarah Gibson, 24, of Soap Lake.
The crash occurred after Ephrata Police were called at around 5:45 p.m. to a suspected vehicle prowl in progress on Nob Hill Drive NE in Ephrata. Before police could arrive, Jones said, the suspect vehicle, a 1998 Dodge Durango with three persons inside, fled the scene at high speed.
Jones said the Durango traveled south on D Street NE, and the driver failed to stop at the stop sign at Division Avenue E. The Durango crashed into a 1980 Chevrolet LUV pickup which was traveling west on Division, Jones said.
The force of the collision caused the Durango to roll onto its side and strike a power pole. The LUV crashed into the garage of the unoccupied house at 350 D Street SE, trapping the pickup’s occupants. They had to be extricated by firefighters.
Audrey Grubb suffered multiple injuries in the collision and died later at Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata. Her body was placed in the charge of Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison for an autopsy.
The driver of the Durango, Neil McLeod, 36 of Ephrata, was arrested by police and transported to Samaritan Healthcare. He was facing charges of DUI (drugs), vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
McLeod was later taken to the Chelan County Jail in Wenatchee because he is the suspect in the death of a Grant County corrections officer’s daughter. Jones wanted to avoid any conflict of interest issues later by not lodging him in the Grant County Jail.
Jones noted multiple agencies of various resources were required for this multi-casualty collision: Ephrata Police Dept., Ephrata Fire Dept., Ephrata Public Works, Grant County Fire District No.13, AMR ambulance, Protection-1 Ambulance from Quincy, LifeFlight and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
“The emergency department staffs at Columbia Basin Hospital and Samaritan Healthcare were prepared to care for the injured,” he said.
Jones offered his sympathies, saying: “This collision has an especially sad connection to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.”
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