Alaska News

Driver who crashed into house charged

A woman whose vehicle crashed into a house on Lake Otis Parkway, injuring the homeowner inside, was charged Wednesday with drunken driving and assault in the October incident, Anchorage police say.

Brandie Thurow-McGrew, 49, was driving a black Dodge Durango south on Lake Otis when the SUV hit a retaining wall on the west side of the street near Northern Lights Boulevard, according to a written statement from police. Police say the Durango "careened" across four lanes, went over a curb, then a fence and a lawn and smashed into a house.

The Durango landed completely inside the house and struck the homeowner, 37-year-old Margarett Lafever, breaking Lafever's left ankle and right foot, police say. Thurow-McGrew suffered minor leg injuries.

A police spokesman said after the crash that officers removed empty beer cans and a loaded firearm from the Durango. Thurow-McGrew was taken to a hospital, then slipped away briefly before officers found her again, police said.

Hours after the crash, investigators received a sample of Thurow-McGrew's blood, which showed she was under the influence of prescription drugs and over the legal limit of alcohol, police said.

Police arrested Thurow-McGrew Wednesday afternoon. Her bail was set at $4,000.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.

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By CASEY GROVE

Anchorage Daily News

Casey Grove

Casey Grove is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He left the ADN in 2014.

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