Jeep Grand Cherokee driver with three eye diseases

Foos was the pastor of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Kennewick when on Sept. 17, 2003, his Jeep Grand Cherokee struck Sara's bicycle from behind. Foos was heading home from the church when the crash occurred on Clearwater Avenue, almost two miles west of Columbia Center Boulevard. He was traveling at about 40 mph.

Foos claimed his eyesight was fine on the day of the crash and that he was blinded by the sunlight, or that Sara's bicycle was near the middle of the lane. Foos had been diagnosed with three eye diseases while his eyesight fluctuated in the year before the wreck, according to trial testimony.

In January, the state Court of Appeals upheld the conviction. The court's opinion said that "Mr. Foos' disregard for the safety of others set in motion a chain of events that caused Ms. Casey's death. ... Sufficient evidence supports the vehicular homicide conviction."

The three-justice panel ruled that Foos ignored his impaired vision and doctors' orders not to drive.