PALMER — Alaska State Troopers say a 14-year-old Eagle River girl who took a pickup truck without permission was involved in a high-speed pursuit on the Old Glenn Highway early Sunday morning.
The teenager, who has not been identified, did not pull over after a trooper initiated a traffic stop for a “moving violation” just after 3 a.m. about two miles south of the Knik River bridge, troopers said. She continued driving at speeds up to 95 mph in a manner troopers described as reckless, troopers said.
A troopers spokesman did not respond to a question about the nature of the violation that triggered the attempted stop.
The pursuit ended when the truck drove into a ditch near McKechnie Loop in Butte, troopers said. The driver and two passengers, also juveniles, got out of the truck and fled, they said. That location is just under four miles from Mile 7 of the highway where the pursuit began, according to the Alaska 511 state road information website.
Troopers searched for the driver and passengers for about two hours total before locating them, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Monday.
A total of six troopers were involved in the response, McDaniel said.
One trooper tried to pull over the pickup and then initiated a pursuit consistent with Department of Public Safety policy “when the driver refused to stop,” McDaniels said. Others started driving in that general direction and most of the troopers involved helped with the search, he said.
The state’s policy instructs any officer engaging in a pursuit to balance the need for that operation against any associated dangers. The policy instructs officers to consider conditions including the seriousness of the initial underlying offense; traffic, weather and road conditions; the officer’s skill as a driver; and the immediate danger posed by the suspect’s attempts to flee.
Charges for felony eluding, first-degree vehicle theft, and third-degree assault for putting a passenger “in fear of serious injury” will be filed to the state Department of Juvenile Justice, troopers said.