A trooper escaped from his patrol vehicle unharmed after it hit a patch of black ice on the Sterling Highway, rolled into a swamp and began to fill with water Thursday night, according to troopers.
Trooper Richard Chambers was responding to a Knob Hill residence near Nikolaevsk where a man was reported at 11:53 p.m. brandishing a gun. Chambers lost control of his vehicle near North Fork Road, according to troopers.
Chambers' vehicle spun a few times in the road, then fell off the west side of the highway and began to roll, according to troopers.
The vehicle stopped at the bottom of an embankment in a swamp, and according to troopers, water began to fill the passenger compartment with Chambers still wearing his seat belt.
Chambers escaped through his window, according to troopers.
Troopers estimate $10,000 of damage to the vehicle.
The man with the gun had already left by the time officers arrived.
Reach Benjamin Brasch at bbrasch@adn.com or 257-4349. Twitter: twitter.com/ben_brasch
By BENJAMIN S. BRASCH