A 22-year-old Homer man is slated to serve more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide for causing a 2021 vehicle crash that killed one and injured two others, according to a Friday release from State of Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.

Tyler Cordes on Thursday, Nov. 21, , Nov. 21, was sentenced in the Homer Courthouse for driving while intoxicated and crashing his vehicle. The crash killed 25-year-old Drew Brown, who was thrown from the vehicle, and injured two other passengers.

The incident occurred on the Sterling Highway at 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2021, when Cordes was driving a pickup truck with three passengers.

According to the attorney general’s release, Cordes was driving at about 70 miles per hour on the Sterling Highway “when he lost control, struck a snow bank, rolled over and collided with a telephone pole.”

Brown was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at South Peninsula Hospital later that night. One other person received injuries requiring hospitalization. A third passenger received minor injuries. Cordes was not injured in the crash, according to the release.

Cordes, who initially told investigators that Brown was driving, was later determined by police to be the driver. A Kenai grand jury indicted him in September 2022. He was arrested in Las Vegas and extradited to Alaska, according to the release.

Cordes in August pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, two counts of assault, and driving while intoxicated, according to the attorney general’s office.

In the release, Assistant District Attorney Jon Iannaccone called the case “one of the most serious criminal cases in Homer over the last several years.”

“It was also hoped that this case could serve as a cautionary tale as it highlighted the dangers and potential seriousness of drunk driving as one young man lost his life and another was sentenced to prison,” he said.

Dina Marion, Brown’s aunt, who previously worked as a teacher in Homer, said that the whole process has been incredibly long. “I think that there were mistakes made along the way … , but I’m happy with how the investigations went.

“I know a lot of the plea agreement was done to avoid a trial, which would have been really difficult for everybody to go through because it’s all been quite traumatic.”

Regarding the sentence, she said that “no amount of time is ever going to bring Drew back. He chose his friends and bears that responsibility but he didn’t deserve to die for it,” she said. “He certainly didn’t need to have someone who claimed to be his friend point a finger at him.”

On Thursday, Homer Superior Court Judge Bride Seifert sentenced Cordes to a total of 14 years in prison with 10 years and eight months suspended. Cordes must serve three years and four months in prison followed by seven years probation.

Cordes apologized for his actions, referring to Brown as “a beautiful person,” the release stated.

Representing Cordes in the case was attorney Joseph Skrha of Kenai. As of Monday he had not responded to press inquiries.