Warden man serving 18 months for drunk driving

EPHRATA — A Warden man is serving more than a year in prison for killing one of his passengers in an August 2009 collision when he was driving drunk.

Edgar N. Arriaga, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in Grant County Superior Court.

The charges weren’t changed as part of the plea.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline sentenced Arriaga to a year and six months in prison. Arriaga had no prior convictions, leading to a sentencing range of a year and three months to a year and eight months.

Arriaga, Cesar Zaragoza Fernandez, 18, Moses Lake, and three other people left Warden to go to a Moses Lake party. While they were traveling northbound on Road R SE, Arriaga lost control of the Chevrolet K1 pickup as he was taking a corner, according to a Grant County sheriff’s report.

The truck went down an embankment, rolling as it neared the bottom and stopped in the center of South Frontage Road East. Zaragoza Fernandez was thrown from the truck, striking the back of his head and died, according to the police report.

Investigators estimated the truck was travelling at 74 mph when Arriaga crashed, 24 mph above the speed limit. A blood test showed his blood alcohol level at 0.11, according to the police report.

After originally denying driving the truck, Arriaga admitted to it, telling police he couldn’t remember how much he drank before the crash, according to the police report.