Alaska News

Families of girls killed in drunken driving crash plan memorial

The families of two teenage girls killed by a drunken driver while walking home from school shopping in South Anchorage on Friday evening are planning a public memorial service later this week, the families said in a statement released Sunday through the Anchorage Police Department.

The man accused of running down Jordyn Durr and Brooke McPheters, both 15, as he sped along Abbott Road did not make an appearance at Anchorage Jail Court Sunday, meaning he is still hospitalized with injuries related to the crash, said police spokeswoman Dani Myren.

Stacey Allen Graham, 31, will be jailed on charges of second degree murder and driving while intoxicated upon his discharge from the hospital, Myren said

Police have said Graham's blood- alcohol content was three times the legal limit when tested after the accident.

On Sunday, the families of McPheters and Durr asked for privacy via a statement released by the Anchorage Police Department.

"Their wish is to celebrate and share information about their daughters jointly ... at a later time," the statement said.

Family and friends are making pink-and-black ribbons with the girls' names on them to raise awareness of drunk driving, the statement said.

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Little is known about Stacey Allen Graham, the man accused of running down the teenagers with his red pickup truck.

About 6:45 p.m. Friday, witnesses said, Graham was driving his red 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck "in a reckless manner" eastbound where Dimond Boulevard becomes Abbott Road and curves to the right, police have said.

Graham lost control of the truck just before the intersection with East 88th Avenue, jumping the curb, hitting Durr and McPheters in the bike path and slamming into a large sign at the Alzheimer's Resource of Alaska, police said.

Investigators have not said where they think Graham was coming from or going to when he hit the girls.

Public records show he owns a home on the corner of 88th Avenue and Rosalind Loop, just two left turns and less than a mile away from the spot where Durr and McPheters were killed.

Graham's history with the legal system in Alaska appears limited to a speeding infraction in 2011 and another decade-old traffic infraction.

Public records and Daily News archives show Graham was married in 2003, announced the birth of a daughter in 2004 and was divorced in 2011.

Neighbors of the Rosalind Loop house said Graham and friends often worked on trucks in the driveway of his green two-story house. Sometimes children played in the yard, one neighbor said. Neighbors said they didn't know what Graham did for work or much else about him.

On Sunday, people left sunflowers, votives and snapshots of the girls at a roadside memorial off Abbott Road.

Kristine Masneri stood in steady rain looking at the growing mountain of cellophane wrapped bouquets.

She was stunned by the accident, she said. Walking or biking to shops and restaurants along busy Abbott Loop is part of the fabric of South Anchorage teenage life.

Her son is soon to start his sophomore year at South Anchorage High School, she said.

Brooke McPheters would have been a sophomore there this fall too.

Jordyn Durr would have been a sophomore at Service High School.

Reach Michelle Theriault Boots at mtheriault@adn.com or 257-4344.

By MICHELLE THERIAULT BOOTS

mtheriault@adn.com

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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