Alaska State Troopers report that at 1:50 am on Thursday morning, officers responded to a call reporting a hit and run involving a pedestrian at a Soldotna address.

The investigation into the incident revealed that 59-year-old Soldotna resident Frank Alto was driving a 2001 Ford Taurus when he struck a woman in her own driveway.

Alto had run over the lower part of the woman’s leg then drove off without aiding the woman according to the trooper dispatch.

Alto was arrested, transported and remanded to Wildwood Pretrial in Kenai without bail. He was charged with Assault III and Leaving the Scene of an Injury Motor Vehicle Accident.

This is not Alto’s first brush with the law. In 1973, Alto was convicted of brutally beating and killing a woman. He was convicted of Rape, Grand Larceny, and Murder in the First Degree, but the conviction was overturned on appeal when the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Alto was Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. He was committed to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute for a period not to exceed 30 years.

In 1998, Alto escaped from custody while returning from a field trip to Girdwood. Alto was located in New York two weeks later. He was detained, and an Alaska State Trooper returned him to Alaska to face escape charges. He was convicted after trial of Escape II. Alto was given a sentence of six years as a third-felony offender. Alto admitted to several escapes while in custody.

Alto was arraigned on the charges on Thursday, the court appointed an attorney for him. His next court appearance is on April 1.