On Nov. 21, twenty-two-year-old Tyler Cordes was sentenced by a Homer superior court judge for his role in the crash in December of 2021.
Cordes was behind the wheel when his truck hit a snowbank, rolled, and struck a telephone pole. One passenger, 25-year-old Drew Brown, died later that night. Two more of the vehicle's occupants were injured, one seriously. Investigators determined Cordes was driving 70 miles per hour and under the influence of alcohol at the time.
He pled guilty to several charges, including criminally negligent homicide, back in August.
Assistant District Attorney Jon Iannaccone said the court considered several factors, including Cordes’ guilty plea when determining the sentence.
“Including the age of the defendant, the fact that the parties knew each other, the defendant's relative lack of criminal history, what the sentencing calls for in a case like this and similar cases, issues if we had to go to trial. So those are all factors that we consider,” Iannaccone said.
Iannaccone said Cordes’ probation includes conditions to abstain from alcohol, complete an alcohol assessment and avoid contact with the victim’s family. Violating these terms could send him back to prison.
He said the case highlights the devastating consequences of driving under the influence.
“So it's a cautionary tale that driving drunk, which is all too common, and it seems like it's not the most serious crime in the world, can have, like really horrendous repercussions that change your life or somebody else's life forever. So hopefully, when the public sees something like this, maybe it deters people from driving drunk,” Iannaccone said.
Cordes was sentenced to 14 years in prison, although 10 years and 8 months of that sentence was suspended. He will also serve seven years of probation.
