Mat-Su

After brief chase, car damages multiple trooper vehicles on the Glenn Highway

A car damaged two Alaska State Troopers vehicles after a brief chase on the Glenn Highway on Friday evening, troopers said.

The collision, at Mile 34 of the Glenn Highway, happened near the Wasilla and Palmer interchange, said troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain.

"There doesn't appear to be any serious injuries but obviously traffic is going to be tied up there," DeSpain said. Anchorage police said all lanes of the Glenn had reopened by 6 p.m.

The incident started when troopers spotted the car traveling fast from the Old Glenn onto the Glenn Highway, heading toward Anchorage. Troopers warned Anchorage police that the vehicle was headed their way, DeSpain said.

But then the car turned around, pulling into one of the median crossovers, and started heading back toward Palmer. A trooper "engaged in a pursuit at that point," DeSpain said, but as the car sped up, the trooper backed off.

Meanwhile, more troopers were waiting at another median, getting ready to deploy spike strips. The car crashed, damaging two vehicles. DeSpain wasn't sure whether the driver had hit two cars, or if one of the trooper vehicles had smashed into the second one when hit.

The driver has been detained, DeSpain said.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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