Crime & Courts

Troopers: Speeding driver flees traffic stop, leading to fiery Soldotna crash

A early morning high-speed incident on the Kenai Peninsula ended with the suspect's car crashed and burning and the driver and a passenger in the hospital, troopers said Monday.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, Alaska State Troopers attempted to stop a 2001 Dodge Neon near Mile 93 Sterling Highway for a moving violation, but instead of pulling over, the driver, Lucas Lester, 23, of Trapper Creek, accelerated to over 100 mph and traveled into Soldotna, the agency wrote in an online dispatch.

The car turned onto the Kenai-Spur Highway. It was driven into oncoming traffic before turning onto Marydale Avenue, troopers said. The attempted escape came to an end where Marydale Avenue ends at Diane Lane, and the car crashed into a Ford F-350 that was parked in a residential driveway.

The front end of the car was crushed and the vehicle caught fire. A responding trooper used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. The pickup sustained significant front-end damage and was pushed into other vehicles.

Lester was later identified as the driver and Christopher Everly, 22, of Palmer, was identified as the passenger. Both men had to be extricated from the vehicle, according to troopers.

Lester received serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the collision. Everly suffered less-severe injuries, although neither of the men's injuries were detailed in the trooper report. Everly and Lester were taken to Central Peninsula Hospital.

Troopers listed charges from the incident as felony eluding, driving with a revoked license and reckless driving.

Megan Edge

Megan Edge is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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