Snowmachine leads troopers on high-speed chase

WASILLA — An alleged drunken driver on a snowmachine led Alaska State Troopers on a chase back and forth across the Parks Highway before he was finally found, with help from a police dog, at home in bed.

According to documents filed in the case against Eric Earl Hunter, 29, of Wasilla, at 8:40 p.m., Dec. 11 Trooper Sgt. David Herrell received word from another trooper about a snowmachine driving “eastbound on Hollywood road at a higher rate of speed than the posted 45 mph speed limit.”

The snowmachine hung a left on Johnson road and passed a vehicle going 70 mph, the trooper told Herrell.

Herrell caught up to the snowmachine — a black Polaris Indy 500 — near Mile 51, Parks Highway.

“I observed the snowmachine traveling at a high rate of speed on the pedestrian trial adjacent to the Parks Highway traveling southbound with a passenger on the back.”

Herrell wrote that he flipped on his emergency lights and siren to pull it over and got in front of it to be sure the driver saw him since he didn’t have mirrors.

The snowmachine crossed the highway in front of Herrell and headed down Rainbow Road. Herrell estimated it was going 40 mph in a 25 mph zone.

The machine went onto Swan Road and then behind a residence there, but came back out, back onto the highway, then back down Rainbow and back down Swan to the same house.

Herrell writes that this time the passenger got off and the snowmachine again took off.

“The snowmachine was later located near Milepost 49.5 of the Parks Highway,” Herrell writes. “Troopers followed shoe prints from the snowmachine to a residence (on the) Parks Highway where a glove and a Polaris snowmachine key were found on the front door step.”

The key was successfully used to start the machine troopers found ditched along the highway.

At this point, troopers called in a police dog. The dog followed the scent from the snowmachine to that same house on the highway.

“Several attempts to knock on the door were done to no avail. A search warrant was requested and granted for the residence,” Herrell writes. “Troopers found Eric Earl Hunter and (a woman who was not arrested) inside the residence in bed and located a matching helmet and jacket of the operator of the snowmachine.”

Troopers talked to Hunter, who told them he saw their lights and heard their sirens.

“Hunter admitted to operating the snowmachine and eluding troopers. Hunter also had signs of impairment,” Herrell writes.

Hunter was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility for drunken driving, driving on a revoked license and failure to stop for a police officer. His bail was set at $5,000 and he was ordered to find a third party to watch him before he can be released. As of Monday afternoon he was still incarcerated.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.