A one-vehicle rollover accident resulted in the death of a recent WSU graduate and two students being taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Idaho.

Around 5:15 p.m. on May 20, James P. Monsey was driving his 1998 Toyota Land Rover along Almota Ferry Road in Garfield County when the vehicle rolled over, ejecting Monsey and his two passengers. Tanya Guseva, of Mulkilteo, who received her bachelor’s degree in communication earlier this month, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Monsey and the other passenger, Allison L. Beach of Woodinville, were transported to the hospital, where they were listed in critical and fair condition, respectively.

None of the passengers were wearing a seat belt, according to the Washington State Patrol collision report. Alcohol and speeding are believed to be the cause of the accident.

“The dynamics of the collision is that the vehicle drifted off the right shoulder of the road,” said William Bryan, a Washington State Patrol detective who was present at the scene. “The driver steered more than he should have to the left and over steered to the right and that caused the vehicle to turn clockwise and then roll.” He said the conditions of the road were bare and dry, while the road was straight in the area of the rollover.

Despite the collision report’s mention of speeding, Bryan hesitated to list this as the cause of the accident.

“We haven’t made the determination that (Monsey) was speeding,” he said. “The vehicle did roll several times and the distance the vehicle rolled I would be able to determine the minimum speed from that.” Police have not yet concluded whether alcohol or drugs were involved. He said Monsey’s blood sample has been sent to a toxicology lab for analysis, which takes about a month for the results to process. Charges against Monsey for vehicular homicide are pending, according to the report.

Troy Briggs, a public information officer for the Washington State Patrol, said if alcohol is to be found in the blood sample, the charges will depend on Monsey’s driving and criminal history.

Though the driver and one of the passengers survived, the sudden and unexpected death of Tanya Guseva was met by her friends with a mixture of shock and grief.

Kara Tiernan, a senior English major who knew Guseva from four years of living together at the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, spoke highly of her best friend.

“She was super smart, just one of the brightest girls I’ve ever met. She balanced her school work and fun extremely well, and just an exceptional student as well,” she said. “Something like this is not something you would expect to happen to your best friend, especially to someone who’s had going so much for them like Tanya.” Brittney Bishop-Powers, who also graduated in May with a communication degree, described Guseva as “the most genuine friend anyone can come across and super loyal.” She said Guseva planned on traveling to Prague in the fall to teach English.

“If someone who didn’t deserve this, it was Tanya,” said Adam Fry-Pierce, a senior communication major and former ASWSU vice president. Fry-Pierce spent the days following the crash at St. Joseph hospital, awaiting for updates on his two close friends, Monsey and Beach. “Judging from her character, she had her head on straight. She worked her entire life.” He said Beach, who underwent surgery May 21, was released from the hospital Saturday but will require skin grafts on her shoulder because of bone fragments.

Though hooked up to a respirator and in a coma, Fry-Pierce said Monsey is showing signs of response.

“Every time that he wakes up he goes nuts and tries to take the respirators out of his mouth,” he said.

“We won’t know (if Monsey is paralyzed) until he wakes up,” he said. “The left side of his entire body wasn’t responding to anything. Now he is (responding).” He also said at this stage, doctors are not sure if there is nerve damage to Monsey’s body.

“He’s really a phenomenal individual. The kid’s got the best of intentions,” Fry-Pierce said “(He) just landed a great job, was gonna move to Montana.” Close friends and the WSU community held a candlelit vigil for Guseva at 8:30 p.m. Friday atop One Way Books on Colorado Street.

About 50 people came that night to share a moment of silence for Guseva and to reminisce on memories for about an hour, Bishop-Powers said. Some of her closest friends remained at the vigil until about 1 a.m.

Fry-Pierce, who continues his daily visits to the hospital to check on his close friend Monsey, said he hopes people learn something from the accident.

“I hope people can realize how fragile life can be,” he said. “It’s a very strong reminder how easily tragic events can be avoided by that one motion to use the seat belt.”
*Kara Tiernan is a reporter for The Summer Evergreen.