Alaska News

Charges filed against suspect in crash injuring Anchorage police officer

A Washington state biologist who struck an Anchorage police squad car head-on early Friday, badly injuring an officer, will face charges of drunken driving and felony assault from the district attorney's office.

Anchorage police officer Randy Hughes suffered serious injuries to his ankle, foot and pelvis in the 2 a.m. collision on the Glenn Highway near Eagle River.

Gregory Fulling, 49, will be arrested for DUI, felony assault in the first degree and felony assault in the third degree once he's released from the hospital, Lt. Dave Parker, a spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department, said Saturday afternoon.

Fulling had been driving a rental car 80 mph the wrong way on the highway, traveling north in southbound traffic. In just a few minutes he'd made it from Anchorage to Eagle River, where he hit Hughes's car, Parker said.

The collision, near the Hiland Road exit in Eagle River, left Hughes pinned in his vehicle, while Fulling's car caught fire. Hughes was extricated from his vehicle by firefighters and then hospitalized. Saturday evening he was to be flown to Seattle for additional, specialized medical treatment, Parker said.

Fulling suffered cranial injuries but was in "stable condition" Saturday. Once doctors gave medical clearance he would be arrested, Parker said.

Crash investigators for the police department were still "piecing together what happened," Parker said.

Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com

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