A pedestrian was struck and killed on a sidewalk in Anchorage early Saturday by a driver who then fled the scene, according to police. The driver was arrested nearby shortly after.
According to the charging document, the pedestrian had just finished crossing with a walk signal at Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive when she was hit and killed by a sedan that swerved onto the sidewalk. Officers responded to the intersection just after 1 a.m., according to police.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and her name has not been released. Police said the driver also hit another vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Police said the driver was stopped by officers near West Anchorage High School shortly after the incident. According to the charging document, the driver, 27 year-old Joshua Vargas, had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled like alcohol. A breath-alcohol sample taken about an hour after the incident measured .318, nearly four times Alaska’s legal limit of .08.
Vargas faces several charges including DUI, leaving an accident without assisting the injured and driving on a canceled license. He was being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on Monday.
Last year, 15 pedestrians were struck and killed by vehicles in the Anchorage area. Saturday’s collision marks the 11th such fatality so far this year.
