SPANISH FORK — The Springville woman who died after crashing into the Spanish Fork River in March and whose baby daughter's survival after 14 hours in the wrecked car attracted worldwide attention had marijuana's active ingredient and other drugs in her system at the time of her death, according to a medical examiner's report released Wednesday.
Lynn Jennifer "Jenny" Groesbeck, 25, died of a blunt force injury to the head in the March 6 crash, the medical examiner's report said. The report identified "a mixed drug intoxication" as a "significant" physical condition at the time of her death.
Substances in Groesbeck's body at the time reportedly included 29.7 nanograms per milliliter of tetrahydrocannabinol, best known as the active ingredient in marijuana; as well as signs of painkiller drugs morphine, hydromorphone and codeine, known as painkiller drugs. Anti-anxiety drug clonazepam was also detected in Groesbeck's system.
Groesbeck's daughter, then 19-month-old Lily Groesbeck, remained upside-down in the watery wreckage, strapped in her car seat, for an estimated 14 hours until the partly submerged car was spotted by a fisherman.
Spanish Fork police frantically rescued the baby, who after a few days in the hospital made what her family called a miraculous recovery. Just days after the ordeal, Lily felt well enough to sing nursery rhymes, laugh and interact with family members.
At the time, police said they recovered marijuana, 16 pills of the painkiller Tramadol and an unused syringe still in its packaging from Groesbeck's purse inside the car, but investigators hadn't yet discovered whether any drugs were in her system.
Officers said at the time that the toxicology report would take five to eight weeks to complete.
"I observed a green leafy substance … that appeared to me to be marijuana. … The green leafy substance was transported to the police department and booked into evidence," an officer wrote in the Spanish Fork police incident report last updated Wednesday and released to the media through an open records request.
The pills were taken to the medical examiner's office and the syringe was photographed and then disposed of, the officer said.
Groesbeck's family members previously said she was studying medical assisting and suffered from back issues because of a previous car crash, identifying those as possible explanations for the discovery of the drugs.
Groesbeck visited her parents' home the night of the crash, the incident report states. Chad Groesbeck, Jenny's father, knew his daughter had recently taken clonazepam, and "he didn't feel like she should be driving," the report said.
"He told me that he told Jennifer he wanted to drive her home, but she refused," another officer said in the incident report.
Chad Groesbeck told officers he checked to make sure Lily was buckled into her car seat before his daughter drove away.
"He watched (Jennifer) as she left to make sure she was driving OK," the officer stated in the report.
Chad Groesbeck told reporters earlier this year that he woke up on the morning after the crash knowing that something wasn't right. After not finding his daughter at her Springville home, he tried to trace where she may have traveled when he came upon the scene of the crash.
The incident report said Chad Groesbeck "just knew" when he spotted the scene that it involved his daughter and granddaughter.
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