Anchorage Daily News

A 19-year-old in a Chevy Tahoe early Saturday morning rammed a trooper vehicle near Bird on the Seward Highway, hit a pickup and forced a third vehicle into a ditch before the trooper was able to push the Tahoe off the road, according to troopers.

No one suffered any serious injuries, troopers said.

The teenager, Rytter N. King of Anchorage, was drinking and had a revoked driver's license, troopers said. He was charged with numerous offenses and is in the Anchorage jail on $150,000 bail.

Other drivers began calling 911 at 5:45 a.m. about an erratic driver heading south on the Seward Highway on wheels, without tires. Two of the wheels did have tires but the other two tires had been punctured and were shredded into nothing, said Sgt. Bryan Barlow of the Girdwood post.

Trooper Mitchell Lewis, who is with the Palmer-based Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol, tried to pull over the Tahoe around Mile 102, at the pullout for the Bird Ridge Trail. The driver first stopped, then rammed Lewis' patrol car and took off from the pullout, striking a second vehicle, a Ford pickup with three occupants, Barlow said. The driver of the Ford had stopped to see if he could help.

The driver of the Tahoe then headed north toward Anchorage, going about 50 mph. At times, the SUV went into the ditch and onto the pedestrian path, troopers said. At one point, the driver put it into reverse, still going 50, Barlow said.

The driver turned around and was headed south again, but in the northbound lane, toward oncoming traffic, and he had stepped it up to 70 mph, the sergeant said. Just south of the Bird Creek bridge, a motorist heading north had to drive into the ditch to avoid a head-on collision, Barlow said.

Lewis was the only trooper in the area, though Barlow said he and a third trooper were headed there.

Lewis drove up next to the Tahoe and pushed it off the road. It went into a ditch and landed on its side, said Barlow. Lewis' patrol car spun out and hit a guard rail.

Troopers said King had taken the SUV from a family member without permission. According to troopers, he was arrested and charged with felony eluding, vehicle theft, criminal mischief, assault, driving under the influence, driving while the license is revoked, refusal to submit to a chemical test, minor consuming alcohol, and minor operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol.

Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.

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