On Saturday afternoon, Anchorage Police were in pursuit of a speeding vehicle on the Glenn Highway attempting to conduct a traffic stop. After pursuing the vehicle for a short time as the VW Jetta drove recklessly, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mile an hour as it passed cars on the right hand shoulder of the road, the Anchorage Police discontinued their chase.

Ten minutes later, multiple 911 calls went in to the Alaska State Troopers reporting a collision that had taken place at the intersection of the Parks Highway off-ramp with Hyder Road in Palmer. The Jetta had run the stop sign and collided with a Toyota Prius. The callers also reported that the driver and passenger of the Jetta fled the scene on foot after the accident.

Troopers responded to the scene with K-9 Trooper “Blazer” and tracked down and arrested the driver of the Jetta. He was identified as 27-year-old Anchorage resident Michael D. Elam. It was determined that Elam had been driving under the influence of a controlled substance while his license was revoked.

The driver of the Prius, identified as 66-year-old Patricia Kennedy of Wasilla received minor injuries as a result of the collision and was treated at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

Elam was charged with Felony Eluding, Leaving the Scene of an Injury Collision, DUI, Assault IV, Driving While License Revoked, and Failure to Immediately Notify the Department of Public Saftey of a Collision. Elam was transported to the Mat-Su Pretrial where he was remanded and his bail set at $15,000 and a Court Approved Third Party Custodian.