19-mile chase lands man in jail

TALKEETNA — An Eagle River man struck a deal this week to get out of jail after he fled from Alaska State Troopers in the northern Susitna Valley while drunk earlier this month.

Before it was through, the chase included a hit-and-run violent enough to leave a bumper behind, a 12-mile drive on one inflated tire, and an unsuccessful attempt to hide in the weeds.

According to court documents, Alaska State Troopers were first alerted to the actions of Kevin A. Lafromboise, 49, of Eagle River, at 3:13 p.m. Aug. 3.

“Fairbanks Alaska State Troopers dispatch reported a motor vehicle collision had occurred somewhere on the Parks Highway,” Trooper Alfred Borrego wrote in an affidavit filed in court.

Troopers headed north both from their Talkeetna and Mat-Su West posts.

Trooper Nathan Duce was the first on scene of the crash. He talked to the victim and saw that the offending gray sedan had left its bumper behind. Troopers ran the number on the license plate still attached to the bumper and traced it to Eagle River, where Lafromboise’s roommate said he’d had the car all day.

Meanwhile, Alaska State Parks Officer Jason Nielson spotted the suspect sedan at Mile 127, Parks Highway. Nielson flipped on his emergency lights and tried to pull the sedan over.

“Officer Nielson reported that the suspect failed to yield and instead accelerated,” Borrego wrote.

Pursuit speeds topped 105 mph. Troopers farther down the highway put out spike strips at Mile 120. The strips took out three of Lafromboise’s four tires.

“At Mile 108, the suspect vehicle stopped and the driver and sole occupant fled from the car on foot,” Borrego wrote.

While all this was going on, troopers got a photo of Lafromboise and showed it to the victim of the hit-and-run, who identified him as the man who hit her.

Wasilla Police Department sent its police dog and handler in to help in the foot pursuit.

Borrego writes that Officer Don Ridge and his search dog sniffed Laframboise out of the weeds where he was hiding. Borrego wrote that Laframboise failed all of the field sobriety tests and, back at the station, blew a .106 on the breathalyzer at 7:08 p.m. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Two prior drunken driving convictions out of Anchorage in 2005 and 2010 make this one a third felony for Laframboise. He also was charged with failure to stop for a peace officer, assault, driving on a revoked license, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to give notice of an accident.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Kari Kristiansen agreed to reduce his bail from $10,000 to $2,500 and allow him to return to work wearing an alcohol-sensing ankle monitor.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.