An Alaska State Trooper responding to a call near the Russian village of Nikolaevsk at a Knob Hill residence suffered an accident on the way to the scene on Thursday night.

Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters said to ANN that Trooper Chambers of the Alaska State Troopers was called in by fellow trooper David Chaffin to assist with report of a brandished weapon at the village north of Homer on Thursday night at 11:53 pm.

As Trooper Chambers was conducting an emergency response to the location, he hit a patch of black ice on the Sterling Highway and lost control of his vehicle. Chamber’s patrol vehicle spun a few times on the road before going off of the road and rolling near North Fork Road, ultimately coming to a rest upside down at the bottom of an embankment in a swampy area.

Trooper Chambers, who was wearing a seat belt, was not injured in the crash. As water began filling up the cab of the patrol car, Chambers was able to escape the vehicle through the driver’s side window. Damage to the patrol car is estimated at $10,000.

Trooper Chaffin responded to the call at the Knob Hill Residence to find that the initial report to the Public Safety Dispatch Center in Soldotna reporting a brandished weapon was not accurate.

When troopers arrived at the scene, they were advised that the man who had gone to the residence had not in fact brandished a weapon, but instead had intentionally displayed the weapon by moving his coat to show the caller he was armed. The suspect had already left the scene before the arrival of authorities.

Troopers determined that no assault had occurred.

Nikolaevsk is a village settled by Old Believers of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church in 1968, and is a largely ethnic community of approximately 350 people. It is located north of Homer, nine miles from Anchor Point on the Kenai Peninsula. Access to the village is made via the North Fork Road off of the Sterling Highway.