A man was found dead on the Old Seward Highway in South Anchorage early Sunday morning after what the Anchorage Police Department suspect to be a hit-and-run collision.
After a traffic investigation, a 29-year-old man was taken into custody and remanded at the Anchorage Correctional Center on charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence and failure to render aid, police said in an online report.
Anchorage patrol officers responded to a report of a body in the roadway at about 3:45 a.m., police said. According to police, they found a man dead in the southbound lanes of the Old Seward Highway near Industry Way, north of Huffman Road.
“Observations made at the scene indicated the man may be the victim of a hit-and-run collision,” police said. Police said he would be identified once next of kin are notified.
The Major Collision Investigations Unit responded to process the site, police said, and a portion of the Old Seward Highway was shut down until about 9 a.m.
Officers were visiting a home to follow up on the case when a man driving a vehicle arrived showing signs of impairment, police said. The officers conducted field sobriety tests and decided to arrest him on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the police department. He was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Complex, where analysis of a breath sample indicated an alcohol content more than 1 1/2 times the legal limit, police said.
It wasn’t immediately clear, based on the information provided by police, what led them to connect that man to the other person’s death. Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in an email Sunday that beyond the victim’s identity, the department won’t be releasing further details “because it is an open and ongoing investigation.”
Police asked anyone with information about the incident, such as surveillance footage of the area, to contact dispatch at 311 or 907-786-8900, or submit an anonymous tip online at anchoragecrimestoppers.com.