Anchorage Daily News

One man faces attempted-murder charges and another is nursing broken ribs after an incident that began with a dropped set of car keys in a Midtown driveway.

What ensued was a violent carjacking that landed Thomas Wilson Tomaganuk, 22, in jail charged with a multitude of crimes, Anchorage police said.

While fleeing, Tomaganuk ran over David Taylor twice with Taylor's 1998 Mercury Sable, police said. Taylor's injuries included broken ribs and several puncture wounds and abrasions.

Tomaganuk was arrested several minutes and a few miles later -- but only after cops broke the car window to get to him, police said.

The whole thing started late Tuesday night.

Taylor, 33, had unknowingly dropped his car keys in the driveway of his home on the 300 block of East 23rd Avenue and later saw Tomaganuk prowling around his car, police said.

"They got into a scrape over the keys and the whole chain of events begins," said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Anita Shell.

Shell described the events like this:

Tomaganuk managed to get control of the keys, got into the car and tried to drive away, with Taylor still struggling to stop him.

Taylor fell down, Tomaganuk ran over him and then hit Taylor's garage door.

Tomaganuk reversed and hit Taylor again before driving away from the house.

"He got him forward and backward," Shell said.

Around then, Taylor's wife called 911. Fourteen minutes later, police spotted the stolen car in Mountain View. Police said Tomaganuk tried to elude them but they cornered him at Mountain View Drive and North Lane Street.

Even then, Tomaganuk wouldn't leave the car. They had to break windows to get to him and make an arrest, police said.

"He was resistant even after getting out of the car," Shell said.

Tomaganuk, who according to court records has a history of drunken driving, is charged with attempted murder, assault, robbery, vehicle theft, theft, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. He was booked at the Anchorage jail with bail set at $100,000, police said. He was still in jail Wednesday evening.

Shell said a blood sample was taken from Tomaganuk and will be tested for alcohol and drugs.

Taylor reacted the way many people do when he initially confronted Tomaganuk, Shell said. But when Tomaganuk got in the car, Taylor probably should have backed down.

"At the point at which he was using the vehicle as a weapon and dead set about getting away, (Taylor) should have withdrawn for his own safety," Shell said. "In hindsight that's easy to say. In the heat of the moment, it's difficult to allow someone to steal your vehicle."

There are about two dozen carjackings in Anchorage a year, Shell said, but few result in as much drama as this one.

"He was very determined to get that vehicle," she said. "Most people, when confronted by a homeowner, will run the other way. It doesn't usually result in this kind of violence."

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