The driver in a pursuit near Seward last month that ended in a head-on crash has been charged with murder in the subsequent death of his passenger.
Alaska State Troopers said in an online dispatch that they arrested 29-year-old Gideon Grady on Tuesday in Fairbanks. He stands accused of second-degree murder and manslaughter, plus two counts each of first-degree assault and failure to stop at the direction of an officer in the crash that killed Gregory Green.
On July 23, Seward police and troopers received several reports of a blue Toyota Corolla driving erratically on the Seward Highway. A charging document against Grady said the car was swerving all over the road, passing unsafely and nearly striking pedestrians. The Corolla evaded multiple attempted traffic stops while heading northbound on the highway, where it was driving at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.
At Mile 13 of the highway, troopers said Grady lost control and struck another vehicle, ejecting both himself and Green from the Corolla. Troopers said Grady was unresponsive and Green was awake but unable to move; both were flown to an Anchorage hospital for treatment. The driver of the struck car was taken to the hospital in Seward for his injuries.
The Sterling Highway was closed for six hours after the crash. Troopers said Green later died on Aug. 2 of brain injuries related to the collision.
Grady was initially taken to the Fairbanks Correctional Center. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Fairbanks, and has a pre-indictment hearing scheduled for Aug. 24 in Seward.
