Police arrested two people alleged to be involved in a vehicle collision that escalated to the shooting of a good Samaritan early Sunday morning in the Anchorage neighborhood of Mountain View, as suspected party-goers fled the scene of a car crash.
Keng Her, 22, and Chuada Chang, 23, were arrested on Sunday afternoon. Her was charged with Assault 1 and Misconduct Involving Weapons 1. Chang was charged with Criminal Mischief 3, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Reckless Driving. Both were taken to the Anchorage jail.
The collision was called in to the Anchorage Police Department around 2 a.m. as a party that had been going on in the neighborhood broke up, said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Anita Shell. The caller said that a Honda Accord struck a dumpster, which then smashed into a second vehicle, which in turn ran into a building identified as a storage area of an apartment complex in the area of North Hoyt Street and Parsons Avenue. While the collision didn't damage the building, it "certainly woke up neighbors," Shell said.
The driver of the Honda then tried to back up, but ran into a light pole, leaving the car disabled and beginning to smoke. The caller watched as several people got out of the Honda and piled into a white SUV that was following them.
About 20 minutes later, police received a second call from a different caller who said that white SUV was back at the scene, and the group was trying to pull the Honda with a tow strap. The caller said a good Samaritan was trying to keep the group from leaving before police arrived, but "several shots rang out from the white SUV as it fled the area," according to the Anchorage Police Department press release.
The good Samaritan was turning to run away when he was shot through the lower back. The bullet exited through his pelvis, shattering his hip, Shell said. He also suffered a gunshot wound to his foot.
The 51-year-old man was taken a nearby hospital. While his injuries aren't life-threatening, a shattered hip is "life-altering, for sure," Shell said.
Police didn't arrive immediately on the scene because the vehicle collision was not their highest priority at the time, Shell said. Officers were busy handling an assault at the downtown Anchorage nightspot Bernie's Bungalow about the time the bars were closing.
Police seized the wrecked Honda.
Contact Laurel Andrews at laurel(at)alaskadispatch.com