Anchorage police have arrested a man who they say was driving drunk early Sunday when he struck and killed a man, then left the scene.
Marsean Hadley, 29, was arrested Sunday morning in the death of 30-year-old Brian Pederson, police said in an online statement. He’s charged with manslaughter, driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to render aid.
According to the police statement, officers had responded at about 3:45 a.m. Sunday to a report of a possible body in the roadway on the Old Seward Highway, near Industry Way, slightly south of East Klatt Road. They found Pederson’s body lying in the southbound lane.
According to a charging document, police also found the license plate of Hadley’s SUV at the scene. When officers spoke with him, the charges say, he admitted to hitting something but didn’t believe it was a person.
The charges say that Hadley said in an interview with police that he had been drinking for about three hours Saturday night. When an officer asked Hadley if he had a cellphone at the time of the collision, he said he did.
“Officer Cusack asked Hadley if Hadley had considered calling APD,” prosecutors said in the charging document. “Hadley shook his head no and said he did not because he was scared. When asked why he was scared, Hadley responded, ‘This.'”
Police said that Hadley’s breath alcohol content was more than one and a half times Alaska’s legal limit when he was initially held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.
Old Seward was closed between East Klatt and Industry Way for nearly six hours Sunday morning as officers investigated Pederson’s death, police said. His family has been notified.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
