Suspect in DUI crash that killed two Federal Way teens receives jail sentence before trial

The man accused of driving drunk and killing two Decatur High School students just days before their graduation will spend the next year in jail on a separate charge.

Kirkland resident Alexander Peder was already on probation for his second drunken driving incident stemming from July 28, 2007, on the night of the deadly crash in June.

When the case went to court in 2009, the charge was pleaded down to a reckless endangerment charge. As part of the deal, Peder had to follow several conditions, including no criminal law violations, no alcohol-related infractions and no driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher for 24 months.

Prosecutors allege that Peder broke all of those conditions on the night of June 9, when Peder crashed into the stalled car on Interstate 5 that was occupied by Anthony Beaver, Derek King and Nicholas Hodgins. King and Hodgins were killed.

Troopers responding to the scene recorded Peder as having watery bloodshot eyes, alcohol on his breath and speaking with a "thick tongue." He was found to have a BAC of .16.

Prosecutors requested that the judge have Peder's previous probation revoked, and instead seeking the maximum sentence of one year in jail. On Sept. 2, Judge Richard Bathum agreed, sentencing Peder to one year in jail.

Peder has already been in jail since June, after the judge set a $1 million bail. He is charged with two counts vehicular homicide and faces five to seven years for the deaths of King and Hodgins.

Contact Federal Way Mirror Reporter Kyra Low at klow@fedwaymirror.com or (253) 925-5565.

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