A Naches man has been sentenced to a year in prison for a drunken driving crash that injured another man.
Derek James Peters pleaded guilty in Yakima County Superior Court on Feb. 7 to a single count of vehicular assault for the Oct. 21, 2024, crash on U.S. Highway 12 near Oak Creek. Vehicular assault is considered a "strike offense" under the state's "three strikes law."
Judge Jared Boswell followed the prosecutor's recommendation to sentence Peters to a year and a day in prison, giving Peters credit for the 110 days he had served in the Yakima County jail awaiting trial.
Peters was previously charged in Yakima County District Court of drunken driving in 2012, but the charge was amended to first-degree negligent driving. In 2013, Peters was convicted of drunken driving in Yakima Municipal Court.
Washington State Patrol troopers responding to the crash found a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee had rolled down a small rock embankment and come to rest on its driver's side, according to a probable cause affidavit.
They also found Peters, the Jeep's driver, outside the vehicle looking for his passenger, the affidavit said. Peters' speech was slurred and he smelled of intoxicants, troopers said.
His passenger, 47-year-old Michael Appleby, was found near the crash scene with a broken lower leg. He was flown by helicopter to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital for treatment, the affidavit said.
In the affidavit, troopers said it appeared Appleby was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected when the Jeep rolled.
Troopers also found empty mini bottles and a pint bottle of R&R whisky near the Jeep. There was also evidence that Peters used marijuana, the affidavit said.
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