UPDATE: Alaska State Troopers have identified the driver as 45-year-old Michael Grimes of Fairbanks and his next of kin have been notified.
The passenger in the vehicle has been identified as 42-year-old North Pole resident Melody Perry, following a preliminary investigation, she has been charged with Misconduct Involving a Weapon III and remanded to the Fairbanks Correctional Center.
Original: Alaska State troopers report that a driver of a pickup truck between Healy and Fairbanks was shot and killed during a chase on the Parks Highway on Wednesday afternoon. He was killed by law enforcement firing in the line of duty.
AST reports that troopers attempted to stop the pickup truck just north of Healy but the vehicle did not comply and instead sped off North on the parks towards Fairbanks. According to the report, during the pursuit, the driver fired his weapon multiple times at the pursuing troopers, because of the extreme public safety risk from the driver troopers and other enforcement officers returned fire and the driver was struck.
Troopers used spike strips and PIT maneuvers to bring the vehicle to a stop. But instead of the driver giving up, another round of gunfire erupted between law enforcement and the suspect.
The driver, whose identity has yet to be revealed, was declared deceased at the scene, the adult female who was in the pickup at the time of the incident was unharmed. The law enforcement officers were uninjured as well.
The Parks Highway was closed most of the afternoon as the scene was documented and the vehicles were removed.
Troopers say that the identity of the suspect will be revealed following next of kin notification. The remains of the driver were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene to conduct a thorough investigation. Following the ABI investigation it will be reviewed by the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions.
The law enforcement officers who discharged their weapons during this incident have been placed on 72 hours of administrative leave, which is department policy. Their identities will be revealed at the end of that time.
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