An Anchorage DUI driver responsible for a multiple vehicle collision attempted to give police the slip but was caught after climbing into his vehicle and driving away from the scene on Wednesday morning.

APD was notified of a hit and run collision at 1:29 am on Wednesday morning by one of the victims who had followed the gray Ford Taurus after it caused a chain reaction multiple collision. The Taurus had left the scene of the accident and driven to a nearby residential driveway and parked. The victim had driven to the driveway blocking in the Taurus.

The police were informed that the Taurus had driving westbound on Chena Avenue when the driver, later identified as 36-year-old Tranetti L. Fernandez, “veered off the roadway and struck an unoccupied black Dodge Ram parked on the north side of the road.” That initial collision caused the Ram to get pushed into a red GMC Sierra parked next to it. The Sierra then got pushed into a red Ford F-150 parked on the opposite side.

As the couple who had blocked in the Taurus were waiting for police to arrive, Fernandez came out of the residence and told the victims that “he knew who the driver was but could not remember his name,” police reported.

When officers arrived they made contact with Fernandez and the victim and his girlfriend as they were standing by the badly damaged Taurus. When they made contact with them they noticed the strong odor of alcohol coming from Fernandez. Fernandez would provide the officers with a description of the supposed driver who he said fled the scene.

As APD officers were making contact with the owners of the various vehicles damaged in the incident and were taking photos at the scene, Fernandez climbed into the Taurus and drove off. “One of the responding officers drove after him and conducted a traffic stop at N Bragaw and Mountain View Drive,” according to the report.

The investigation would determine that Fernandez was the driver of the Taurus when the collisions occurred. Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) were performed that resulted in Fernandez being taken into custody and transported to the Anchorage Jail. When there, a breath sample was taken that showed Fernandez had a blood alcohol level over two and a half times above the legal limit. He was remanded on charges of DUI, Leaving the Scene of a Crash, and False Information.

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