MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. — A Federal Way man is accused of killing a toddler in a crash due to speeding on Oct. 21 along state Route 18 in Maple Valley.
Alexis Andaluz Lozano, 19, is charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The state requested his bail be set at $150,000. Lozano’s arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
According to the Washington State Patrol (WSP), the crash happened around 3 p.m. in the eastbound lanes near the Southeast 256th Street exit in Maple Valley.
Charging documents state the roads were wet on the rainy Monday and Lozano was “speeding too fast for the conditions … and lost control.” Lozano spun across the median and into oncoming traffic, crashing into a car carrying a mother and her toddler.
The “violent collision” occurred at speeds over 100 miles per hour, documents state. The 27-year-old mother suffered a fractured arm, broken leg and several broken ribs. Her 21-month-old son died at the scene due to his injuries.
The mother had been driving to pick up her daughter at daycare at the time of the collision. She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and underwent surgery for her injuries.
Documents state Lozano had an open container of several pre-rolled marijuana joints, along with other drug paraphernalia and marijuana products inside his car. Court documents state he showed signs of impairment from drug use.
When a responding trooper asked Lozano, who was sitting in the totaled car, if he was OK soon after the crash, Lozano said he was just tired. When the trooper asked what happened with the crash, documents state Lozano asked "What crash?"
A drug recognition expert on scene determined he was not impaired by alcohol; Lozano reportedly failed some sobriety tests on scene.
He was airlifted to the hospital and has since been booked into jail.
Lozano was previously charged with negligent driving in September 2023.
"It's unfortunate," WSP Trooper Rick Johnson recently told KING 5. "And as a parent myself, I can't even fathom the feelings and the heartbreak."
Johnson said the incident is the 30th fatal crash the state agency has recorded so far this year in King County. Last year, there were 43 fatal crashes, which does not include any deaths from other agencies in the county.
"A lot of these are preventable and should not have happened," Johnson said. "And should not have happened. And there's a reason why they did, a lot of times it's people choosing to drive impaired."