Driver who smoked pot sent to prison for fatal crash near St. Johns

ST. JOHNS - A Mt. Pleasant woman who had marijuana her system when she was involved in a fatal crash north of St. Johns in May was sentenced to prison Monday in Clinton County Circuit Court.

Sarah Lorine Snyder, 26, drew a 2- to 15-year prison term from Judge Randy Tahvonen.

Officials said her vehicle collided with a pickup truck and trailer being driven by Donald Theis, 72, of Fowler, on U.S. 127, near Silvers Road north of St. Johns, while Snyder was trying to pass. Snyder admitted smoking marijuana before she started driving that day, they said.

Both vehicles went off the road, and Theis' truck overturned, killing him. Two passengers in Snyder's vehicle were seriously injured, while she and a third passenger had minor injuries.

Snyder pleaded guilty in October to operating with the presence of a controlled substance in her system, causing death. A charge of reckless driving causing death was dismissed.

An attorney for Snyder did not immediately return a telephone message left for him by the State Journal on Monday. 

Theis was well-respected in the Westphalia area, Assistant Clinton County Prosecutor Kevin Hayes said.

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Hayes noted that for now, at least, it's still illegal to drive with marijuana in your system, despite the overwhelming passage of the recreational marijuana proposal last month.

"The consequences ... are still pretty extreme," he said. "In cases like this, you can end up going to prison."

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.