Teen charged with assault after crash

PALMER -- A Chugiak teen-ager was arrested Sunday on three felony charges after he allegedly drove a pickup truck into the path of another vehicle, then fled the scene.

Alaska State Troopers said James Danny Chiodo, 19, was driving a Dodge Ram south on the Glenn Highway at 5:15 a.m. Sunday when he swerved into the oncoming lane and collided with a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Matthew Day, 25, of Palmer.

Day lost his top and bottom front teeth in the crash, and suffered several lacerations to his face which required stitches, according to charging documents. A witness saw the collision just north of the intersection with Parks Highway and called 911.

The witness "saw the sole occupant of the black Dodge pickup truck … get out of the vehicle and run into the woods," charging documents said. Troopers apprehended Chiodo not long afterward.

He told troopers he was ejected from the truck through the windshield and that another Chugiak resident had been driving, court papers said. Chiodo said he had four beers earlier that day, charging documents said.

However, a blood test taken at Valley Hospital showed Chiodo's blood alcohol level to be .244 -- three times the legal limit.

"Chiodo was highly intoxicated and could not inform the ER doctors where his pain was at, so they admitted him into the hospital until he was sober enough to articulate his pain," charging documents said.

Chiodo was discharged from the hospital with no injuries. Troopers took him to Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, where he was lodged on charges of third-degree assault, leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, and first-degree vehicle theft, all of which are class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. He also was charged with driving under the influence and minor consuming alcohol.

The Chugiak man who Chiodo said was driving the Dodge truck told troopers Chiodo had been at his home the previous evening, then disappeared along with the man's truck and keys. The man did not give Chiodo permission to drive his truck, charging documents said.