Driver charged in deadly Atka van crash leaves hospital, enters custody

Alaska State Troopers have arrested the man they say was drunk when the van he was driving crashed in the Aleutian village of Atka in June, killing three passengers and injuring himself and six others.

Sonny Iloilo, 28, was taken into custody upon his release from a hospital Wednesday evening on three counts each of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and six counts each of first-degree and third-degree assault, and one count of DUI in the June 14 wreck of an Atka Pride Seafoods van carrying employees to dinner.

Passengers Ray McCullough Jr., 43; Mike Tunohun, 51; and Paul Nicholas Nesbit, 57, were fatally injured in the crash. Iloilo and all six of the surviving passengers — Jacob Bernet, 32; Jesus Hernandez, 66; Steven Nyberg, 48; Loelu Siatuu, 26; Boulay Vilavong, 54; and Jonathon Merculieff, 31 — were injured, with everyone but Merculieff flown to Anchorage for treatment.

Troopers announced shortly after the crash that Iloilo was charged but not yet in custody. According to charging documents, Iloilo told troopers he had consumed two beers and four shots of alcohol before the crash, in which the van spun out and rolled on Atxax Way. Iloilo provided a breath sample that showed an alcohol content of 0.185 — more than twice the legal driving limit of .08.

Iloilo was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Complex, troopers said. His bail was set at $250,000 cash with a court-approved third-party custodian required for his release.