Charging Decision Set For Wednesday After $200,000 Bail In Fatal Crash

A King County judge set bail at $200,000 for a 29-year-old driver accused of causing a fatal collision, after finding probable cause for vehicular homicide at a Saturday court appearance. The driver, whom prosecutors have not named, remains in custody while the King County Prosecutor's Office prepares a formal charging decision expected Wednesday. He had been scheduled for a Monday hearing at the Kent Regional Justice Center but is now due back in court later this week.

The crash happened just before 11 p.m. Friday at South 304th Street and Pacific Highway. Federal Way police said two vehicles collided in the intersection and one was pushed onto the sidewalk, where it struck Dee-Jay Tuiasosopo, 16. The site sits about a block from where Tuiasosopo had played in a football game earlier that evening.

Court documents filed in King County Superior Court outline the probable cause finding. Investigators have not disclosed a blood alcohol reading or vehicle speeds in the case. No attorney for the driver appears in the filings.

Tuiasosopo was a student at Federal Way High School and came from the Tuiasosopo athletic family. A memorial of candles and flowers has accumulated at the intersection since Friday. More than 100 people attended a community vigil over the weekend.

David Rodriguez, a friend and classmate, described Tuiasosopo as someone who kept his humor through difficult moments in practice and games. His family wrote that he focused on both his schoolwork and his athletics, and that he cared about people he had just met as readily as those he had known for years. The family's statement added that his presence reached further than they had realized while he was alive.

The crash remains under review by the King County Prosecutor's Office. The suspect's next court appearance is scheduled for later this week.