Two intoxicated Anchorage women were jailed on numerous charges following an accident at the intersection of Hollywood Drive and Northpointe Bluff Drive on Friday night, Anchorage police reported.

A call-in to the police dispatch reported that adults and children were in the roadway and it appeared that they had been in a collision, according to the report. APD responded to the scene.

Once there, officers spoke with witnesses at the scene to find that after the vehicle struck multiple vehicles, the driver came to a stop and got out, then switched places with the passenger in the front seat. That new driver drove a short distance and “pulled up against the curb.

The two women were contacted and the original driver was identified as 30-year-old Tara Strongheart and the passenger as 24-year-old Julia Amaktoolik. Both women showed signs of inebriation, and so were taken into custody on DUI charges.

The two young children who were in the vehicle as each woman drove, were subsequently released to family members.

Both were taken to the Anchorage Jail and processed. Both were found to have blood alcohol levels two and a half times the legal limit. 

Both Strongheart and Amaktoolik were charged with DUI, two each Child Neglect, and two counts of Reckless Endangerment, of which Amaktoolik’s was designated DV.

Then despite being repeatedly warned to stop talking to each other as they awaited telephonic arraignment, they continued to do so. As a result, Amaktoolik was additionally charged with Unlawful Contact.

  Anchorage, arrest, children, dui, holywood drive, julia amaktoolik, reckless endangerment, tara strongheart