The suspected driver in a fatal crash was going up to 96 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone, court papers say.

Stephen Eric Cresong, 30, of Port Orchard was charged in Kitsap County Superior Court Feb. 27 with one count of vehicular homicide and was booked into the county jail. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.

The crash caused the victim, 31-year-old Dylan Lewis of Port Orchard, to be ejected from the vehicle as he was not wearing his seat belt, court papers say. He was found in nearby bushes by officials from South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and died from his injuries.

An investigation by Port Orchard police revealed the vehicle, a 2015 Chevy Impala, was traveling at a high rate of speed in the 1000 block of Mitchell Ave. Feb. 5. Around 11:30 p.m., the suspect lost control, sending the vehicle against the overpass curb and also hitting a rock wall and telephone pole. Officials say the force of the crash caused the car to pitch upwards, impacting the telephone pole with its roof and severely damaging the front of the car against the ground.

Following an investigation, police served a $500,000 warrant Feb. 28 as Cresong arrived at his workplace. Officials say he told police he was the passenger, and Lewis was driving, but witnesses said otherwise.

Court papers say an open bottle of alcohol was found on the driver’s side floorboard. A nurse at Tacoma General where Cresong was taken quoted him as saying, “I’m so drunk.”