Bail is set at $100,000 for a Centralia man with four DUI-related convictions on his record who was allegedly under the influence of drugs when he crashed his vehicle on Interstate 5 in Centralia on Tuesday.
Kristopher Michael Alexander, 35, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 8:42 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, after Washington State Patrol troopers responded to a crash in the merge lane of I-5 near Harrison Avenue, according to Lewis County Superior Court documents and jail records.
Witnesses reported that a red truck, allegedly driven by Alexander, had run into an unoccupied work truck, lost its left wheel and collided with a guard rail. The work truck came to rest on its side in the gore point, according to court documents.
While Alexander reportedly told troopers he had not consumed alcohol — which was confirmed by a 0.000 reading on a breath test — troopers reported that Alexander exhibited physical signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance, including slow responses and pinpoint pupils.
Alexander reportedly agreed to perform a field sobriety test, during which he allegedly displayed “several clues indicative of impairment,” according to court documents.
Alexander was arrested for DUI and searched before being booked into the jail. During the search, troopers reportedly found a crumpled up piece of plastic in his shoe that a trooper “believed … previously held controlled substances based on her training and experience,” according to court documents.
Troopers reportedly “believed Alexander was under the influence of some type of substance,” but were unable to determine what kind. They obtained a warrant for a blood draw, which was completed at Providence Centralia Hospital before Alexander was booked into the jail.
The results of that blood draw were not publicly available as of Wednesday afternoon.
“It was noted Alexander started falling asleep while waiting for the authorization and execution of the warrant,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents.
Alexander was charged Wednesday, May 21, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of felony DUI and first-degree driving with a suspended license.
“He was adamant in speaking with me that he was not under the influence,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said of Alexander during his preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
According to Tiller, Alexander was recovering from an illness and was on his way home from work when the crash occurred.
Alexander’s criminal history includes misdemeanor DUI convictions from 2024, 2022 and 2021, as well as a reckless driving case from 2020 that was originally charged as a DUI, according to court documents. At the time of the incident, Alexander was also reportedly out of custody on $7,500 bail for a pending second-degree assault, domestic violence, case out of Thurston County Superior Court, according to court documents.
Due to his DUI history, Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said Wednesday, “We believe him to be an extreme risk to public safety if he were to be released without high bail.”
Meagher requested that Alexander’s bail be set at $100,000, which Judge Joely Yeager granted.
“This is some of the worst DUI history I have ever seen,” Yeager said Wednesday, calling the $100,000 bail “absolutely warranted under these conditions.”
Of DUI- and reckless driving-related cases, Yeager said, “I have said this several times, but I believe this is the biggest risk to our community's safety.”
Yeager also imposed a provision onto Alexander’s conditions of release prohibiting him from being behind the wheel of any motor vehicle until his case is resolved.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 29.
