Second man charged in deadly Lakewood wreck was going 50 mph over limit, charges say
A second driver has been charged with vehicular homicide for speeding on a Lakewood street seconds before he was in a three-vehicle wreck that killed two people and injured three others.
Eric Maneja Fernando, 32, was arraigned Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court on two counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of vehicular assault.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf, and Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $75,000. Fernando posted a bail bond Thursday. A pretrial services report shows Fernando does not have prior felony convictions.
Charging documents allege that Fernando and a 22-year-old man also charged in the wreck were driving north the evening of July 13 on Gravelly Lake Drive when a silver Chevy sedan with two people inside turned in front of them from Wildaire Road Southwest. Fernando reportedly moved out of his lane to avoid the collision but was sideswiped, and the 22-year-old driver behind him slammed into the Chevy’s driver-side door.
The Chevy driver, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, and a passenger suffered a brain bleed and a spinal injury, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause.
A Lakewood Police Department officer determined the 22-year-old driver, Jaquan Price, caused the collision. Further investigation found Price and Fernando were speeding, and a witness told police that at one point it looked like Price was trying to race Fernando’s truck. The speed limit on Gravelly Lake Drive is 30 mph, and charging papers allege Fernando was driving 82 mph five seconds before the collision. Price was allegedly driving 75 mph.
Price had three passengers in his car. One was killed, one’s arm was broken and the third had injuries to his face. The Pierce County medical examiner identified the deceased as 23-year-old Bryan Eppling of Tacoma. According to the probable cause document, the four of them were driving from American Lake.
Price, a convicted felon, allegedly told police he drank several tequila shots before he got behind the wheel of a Toyota Rav4. Prosecutors wrote in charging papers that he began chasing Fernando’s truck when it reportedly cut him off on Nyanza Road Southwest.
Fernando was traveling with his three children when the collision occurred, records say. No injuries were reported from his vehicle’s occupants.
