From the Blotter

Three injured when SUV rolls into trees

TRAPPER CREEK — An SUV rolled into the trees Sunday, throwing a Fairbanks man 75 feet, Alaska State Troopers report.

Troopers were called to the scene at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday. They say Kash Vigue, 51, of Fairbanks, was southbound on the Parks Highway when at about Mile 124 his 1996 Ford Explorer drifted across the fog line and onto the dirt shoulder.

The Explorer hit three large trees, troopers report, and rolled several times, coming to rest on its side. Vigue injured his back and his neck. His two passengers, Josh Frisby, 19, and Justin Hamilton, 20, both of Fairbanks, weren’t wearing seatbelts. Troopers described their injuries as “serious but not life-threatening.”

“Hamilton was ejected approximately 75 feet from the vehicle,” according to a trooper press statement.

All three men were taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical center. The Explorer was totaled.

—Andrew Wellner

Pair escape burning SUV

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers have released the name of the two people who narrowly escaped a burning SUV on the Parks Highway Friday.

Joseph Degroff, 24, of Wasilla, was driving the 1996 Chevrolet Blazer and Jennifer Hayes, 21, of Wasilla, was his passenger. Troopers say the Blazer rolled several times at the highway’s interchange with the Glenn Highway. The SUV wound up on its wheels in the southbound lanes.

“Degroff’s vehicle caught fire as they were exiting through the passenger window,” troopers report.

Both Degroff and Hayes were taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Degroff was cited for not exercising due care to avoid a crash.

Burglar assaults victim in home

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers are looking for a person who snuck into a home Friday and assaulted a person inside. Troopers say the call to respond to the home off Seldon Road came at 4 p.m. on Friday. They say the burglar or burglars entered through an unlocked window.

“While in the residence, the unknown person(s) assaulted a resident,” troopers report.

Anyone with information is asked to call troopers at 745-2131 or Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333.

Man survives rollover in stream

PALMER — A passing motorist called for help after spotting a man who’d rolled his car into a stream Saturday, Alaska State Troopers report.

Gregory Mothershead II, 26, of Palmer, was heading southbound on Palmer-Fishhook Road in his 2005 Chevrolet Malibu when his car spun out of control and hit the guardrail. But troopers say the car didn’t stop there, rolling down an embankment and into a stream near the Little Susitna River, where it came to rest upside down.

“Mothershead was able to extract himself from the vehicle and was discovered in the stream by another motorist,” troopers report.

Medics took Mothershead to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Troopers say the Malibu was totaled and the guardrail sustained $3,000 damage.

ATV rider stranded in woods

WASILLA — A man who wanted to try out a new trail on his ATV ended up spending an unplanned night in the woods, Alaska State Troopers report.

At 8:31 a.m. Sunday troopers got word that Moses Tcheripanoff, 43, of Wasilla, had not returned home. His wife told troopers he’d last been seen at 10 p.m. the night before riding his ATV from the Tesoro station at Seldon and Church roads.

Troopers say they called in a search plane and enlisted the help of Mat-Su Search and Rescue, which combed the woods on ATVs, accompanied by a trooper also riding an ATV. At 11:50 a.m. the trooper pilot spotted Tcheripanoff in the woods near Bruce Lake. The airplane guided searchers to the spot. Medics checked Tcheripanoff out, troopers report, and found he was only mildly dehydrated.

“Tcheripanoff had attempted to ride a new trail on his ATV and became stranded,” a trooper statement says.