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Driver in fatal crash has four previous DUI convictions

by Ashton Goodell
Friday, November 6, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Prosecutors say the driver involved in a fatal crash Thursday night had several DUI convictions and was driving without a license.

Police say the driver crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and hit another car head-on.

The driver has four DUI convictions, and the accident may mark her fifth.

She lost her license months ago, but that wasn't enough to stop her from driving.

It's a scene nobody ever wants to see.

One person died, two others got hurt, and witnesses saw what looked like a drunk driver.

"The white SUV that's in the road way was reported earlier by a citizen at a business. The citizen believed that the driver was intoxicated," said APD's Lt. Dave Parker.

Before the accident, two people called police to report the driver. A worker at a hair salon said Phillips was drunk when she left the shop.

Police say after she got on the highway a Department of Transportation worker called them again, but it was too late to stop her. A minute later the cars collided.

"Every indication from the witnesses is that the white SUV crossed the center line and ran head-on into the Toyota," Parker said.

The SUV was heading south on the Seward Highway, then turned around.

It crashed into the other car at the south end of Potter's Marsh. Police diverted traffic to a side road for the nearly five hours the highway was closed. 

The driver, Lori Phillips, was arrested in March for DUI while still on probation for a previous DUI conviction back in 2005.

"This wasn't the first DUI," said Municipal Attorney Al Patterson, while looking through papers.

Her history of drunk driving goes back more than 10 years with two more drunk driving charges in Washington state.

A drunk driver loses their license temporarily on a first DUI conviction. That happened to Phillips after her March arrest.

But prosecutors say that for some, taking away the right to drive won't keep them off the roads.

"The first thing I did this morning when I came was pull the files and look at them and see where we were and make sure that we had done what we were supposed to do and we had.  I just wish there was a way we could say ‘You can't drive,' and keep people from driving, but I just don't think there's a way you can do it," said Al Patterson, the Municipal attorney.

Police say it's hard to catch those who drive with a revoked license without the help of those around them.

And they say there's a reason why they take the keys away.

Police haven't yet identified the man killed in the accident.

The passenger, 29-year-old Joyua Stovall, is in critical condition. She sustained life-altering injuries in the crash, police say.

Phillips was released from the hospital Thursday night with only minor injuries.

Hot Heads Salon released a statement late this afternoon, which reads:

"The owners and co-workers of Hot Heads respect the police and the investigative process. Until the investigation is complete, we will not respond to questions or provide interviews to the news media. Except to say, Hot Heads does not have a liquor license and did not or has not served alcohol to any clients."

The investigation is expected to take several more weeks.     

Prosecutors say if Phillips is convicted she could face a felony charge for drunk driving and possibly manslaughter charges.

Police say they are still investigating to see if the driver was drunk or had a mental condition.

Contact Ashton Goodell at agoodell@ktuu.com