SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Almost two weeks after saying he was the driver who killed a Rocklin teen, Placer County CEO Todd Leopold was placed on paid administrative leave, the county said.
According to a Placer County spokesperson, Jane Christenson will serve as Acting County Executive.
The reason for the county placing him on leave is not known. The county said they will not be saying more as it is a “confidential personnel matter.”
Leopold released a statement on May 13, saying he could “now publicly acknowledge” he was the driver in a March crash that killed Anthony Williams.
“Many individuals have questioned why I didn’t provide an official response to media requests for identification of the driver. Unfortunately, I could not comment on the pending investigation and certainly did not want to be perceived, in any way, as attempting to influence the outcome of the Rocklin Police Department’s investigation,” Leopold said in the statement.
In a previous interview, a local defense attorney said he believed the statement could put Leopold in hot water with the community.
“There’s going to be a lawsuit. Acknowledging that he was the driver makes us wonder how would that have changed anything if we knew about that at the beginning. Especially coming from someone in that position. I think the time is going to come where they may start asking for this person to resign,” Mark Reichel said.
Leopold released the statement after Rocklin police said there would be no charges filed against the driver in the fatal crash.
FOX40 had requested to interview Leopold after he released the statement. In response to the request, Placer County Board of Supervisors Chair Cindy Gustafson released a statement.
“As Chair of the Board of Supervisors, I was stunned and heartbroken to receive the March 20th call from Placer County CEO Todd Leopold that he was involved in the terrible accident on the night of March 19th in the City of Rocklin. We are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss and the Board of Supervisors continues to offer our sincere condolences to Mr. Williams’ family, friends and all those impacted. Out of respect for due process and the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation, the County did not comment, but with its conclusion, we are gratified our CEO has stepped forward to acknowledge his part in this tragic personal accident.”
Cindy Gustafson, Placer County Board of Supervisors