Anchorage man sentenced to 30 years in prison for fiery crash that killed young couple

An Anchorage man was sentenced Friday to spend 30 years in prison for a fiery crash in 2022 that killed a young couple.

Matthew Davis, now 25, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of manslaughter and driving under the influence for the deaths of 18-year-old Amelia Nowak and 20-year-old Derek Duerr.

Family and friends of Nowak and Duerr packed Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Ramgren’s courtroom on Friday for the emotional sentencing hearing. The families asked Ramgren to reject the plea agreement because they felt the sentence was not long enough.

Davis left downtown Anchorage bars in the early hours of Aug. 21, 2022, and rear-ended another vehicle, which then pursued him, charges filed against him said. He was speeding at an estimated 80 to 100 mph when he struck Nowak’s blue Hyundai at the intersection of Cordova Street and East 15th Avenue.

Nowak had just picked up her boyfriend, Duerr, and they were stopped and waiting to turn when Davis hit them with enough force to ignite the gas tank and push the car across the intersection and into a tree. The young couple died about two minutes after the car was engulfed in flames, their families said. They were unable to get out of the car and burned to death. Their bodies were found intertwined.

Davis continued driving and hit a third vehicle, then a shed, the charges said.

He later told police he was so drunk that he did not remember driving, and his blood-alcohol content measured more than three times the legal limit, the charges said.

Anchorage District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the plea agreement with Davis marked one of the highest sentences to be imposed in Alaska for a DUI homicide. A 30-year sentence is lengthy but also took into account that Davis was a young, first-time offender, she said.

“I am never going to write off a 23-year-old that had a really, really, really terrible night, regardless of the outcome,” she said. “And my heart goes out to the families, all three families involved here.”

Nowak’s mother, Stephanie Stephens, showed the packed courtroom a slideshow of photos featuring her daughter as a toddler reading with her father, hugging her siblings and pictures of her at her high school graduation, playing basketball with her teammates and laughing as she hugged her boyfriend.

Nowak and Duerr’s friends wiped away tears and muffled sobs as Stephens talked about her daughter, Duerr and the devastation their deaths caused.

Stephens, along with other family members, described Nowak as a vibrant young woman who went out of her way to help others and improve her community. She dreamed of going into the medical field from a young age and was weeks away from heading to college on a scholarship to Western Washington University, where she planned to study medicine and play basketball, her mother said.

Stephens played a voicemail Nowak left for a friend two days before her death. In the recording, Nowak said talked about being in a good mood — “I love being alive, you know what I’m saying? I feel like we should be more appreciative of life, like I’m thankful to wake up early to go to math class. ... I’m thankful because I know I got the gym later today.”

[Friends remember Anchorage crash victims as kind and giving student athletes]

Duerr was also about to head to Bellevue Community College on a basketball scholarship, said his mother, Jennifer Julian. He was a dedicated athlete and a hard worker who loved his family, friends and girlfriend deeply, she said. Julian exchanged texts with him less than an hour before the crash.

Duerr had asked Nowak to pick him up from a friend’s home on the night of the crash because he had been drinking and didn’t want to drive, she said. He made the right choice that night and Davis made the wrong decision, she said.

Davis’ mother and aunt spoke during the hearing and said he is a good person who had made a horrific mistake. He’s the type of person who looked out for the underdog and sought out opportunities to help others, said his mother, Nancy Davis. He had moved to Anchorage more recently and was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, said his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Winn.

Winn paused to wipe away her own tears as she addressed the court on Friday and told Nowak’s and Duerr’s families that she felt for them and could not imagine such a tremendous loss.

Davis looked down throughout much of the hearing and cried as his mother spoke. Near the end of the hearing, he apologized to Nowak’s and Duerr’s families.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about why I did what I did and what I could have done differently to prevent all of this from happening,” he said. “I know in my heart that I’ll never forgive myself for what I’ve done and I don’t expect to ever be forgiven by anybody that was affected and is still suffering from my actions.”

Davis said he promised to seek out treatment and services during his incarceration that would allow him to be a better man when he is someday released from custody.

Ramgren accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Davis to spend 30 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation. He told Davis he hopes he tries to “make something out of this” by speaking out in the future against drunken driving.

Stephens said after the hearing that she did not think the sentence was long enough, but that she believes Davis will try to make amends for his actions.

“He ended two beautiful people’s lives who had amazing futures ahead of them and would have healed people and just spread love,” she said. “... He has a huge debt to society. He needs to be a poster boy for drunk driving — don’t drink and drive. And I believe for Amelia and Derek — he needs to say their names over and over again. I want him to know who he killed because he doesn’t remember.”

[Previous coverage: Families of couple killed by accused drunken driver sue 4 downtown Anchorage bars]