Alaska State Troopers responded to a call of a vehicle off the road near the Russian River Ferry in Cooper Landing on June 28th at about 12:14 am.

When they arrived, they found a vehicle down the hill from the Russian River Ferry parking area.

They contacted the driver of the vehicle, 47-year-old Anchorage resident Vennard Lahti. Lahti insisted to troopers that someone had rear ended his vehicle while he was asleep and was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. He told troopers that this was the reason the vehicle had gone over the embankment.

The Trooper investigation of the incident determined that Lahti had been driving while under the influence of alcohol and had driven forward down the hill. They looked at the physical evidence on the vehicle and determined that he in fact had not been struck from behind as he had stated.

Lahti was charged with DUI, and in addition he was charged with giving a false report to the troopers. He was arrested, transported and remanded to the Seward Jail.