A taxi driver who allegedly caused a fatal three-car accident on Interstate 5 near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in November pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to a charge of vehicular homicide.

Waleligne Afele, 36, was arraigned Tuesday. He was booked into the King County Jail on Thursday and ordered held on $100,000 bail, according to jail records.

He was ordered to return to court for a case setting hearing on April 6 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

According to charging documents filed last Wednesday:

Afele, a driver for Stita Taxi, was driving south on I-5 around 6 a.m. on Nov. 18 when he made an abrupt lane change toward the Highway 518 exit ramp. His cab struck a Toyota Land Cruiser being driven by David Doerr, causing Doerr, 43, to lose control of his vehicle. The Land Cruiser struck the curb and flipped over. The driver of a Toyota Camry was unable to stop and struck the driver's side of the Land Cruiser.

Doerr died at the scene. A passenger in the Toyota Camry was treated for minor injuries.

Afele was not hurt in the crash. When he talked to State Patrol investigators he claimed that the driver of the Land Cruiser had suddenly changed lanes and caused the crash, court charging papers said. Afele later told investigators that he wanted to talk to a lawyer.

Two women who had hired Afele to take them to the airport said that Afele was about to miss the exit ramp when he cut across the freeway. One passenger said that the taxi struck the raised curbing that separated the exit ramp from I-5, went over the curb and hit the Land Cruiser, charging papers said.

Investigators believe that Afele was traveling between 55 and 60 mph when he struck Doerr's vehicle, charging papers said.