Update, 11:30 a.m. April 3:
Anchorage police say the woman struck and severely wounded in a March 14 hit-and-run collision on Muldoon Road died last week.
In an updated statement, police said Wonpen Tawthaisong, 43, succumbed to her injuries March 23. Her family has been notified.
Tawthaisong's death increases the toll of pedestrians killed by Anchorage drivers so far this year to six. Last year, 15 people were fatally struck on local roads.
No additional charges have yet been filed against Anthony Roberts, 32, the driver initially arrested for assault, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of the collision. Alaska Department of Law spokesperson Patty Sullivan declined to say Thursday what charges may be filed against Roberts or when, noting that the investigation remains ongoing.
Original story:
Anchorage police arrested a driver who they say struck a pedestrian Friday afternoon in a hit-and-run collision, then tried to wash signs of the impact from his car.
Court records show Anthony Roberts, 32, is charged with first-degree assault, leaving the scene and tampering with physical evidence.
Police said in a statement that they responded just before 2:15 p.m. Friday to the collision, at Muldoon Road’s intersection with Duben Avenue. There, they found a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries. Police said the pedestrian is a woman, but they have not released her name.
According to a charging document in the case, she was heading west across Muldoon in a crosswalk with a green walk signal at the time of the collision. Police say Roberts called dispatchers soon afterward, but “did not correctly identify the location of the accident and failed to admit he was the one who hit the pedestrian.”
“The defendant left the area right after APD arrived on the scene and did not talk with any police officer,” police said.
Officers found Roberts at his home, based on the license plate on his Buick. Police say he had changed his clothes after the collision, and surveillance video in the area recorded him washing his car after he returned.
“When APD contacted (Roberts), he said he washed his clothes because they were dirty, and he had spilled water on them after the collision,” police said. “(He) said he washed his vehicle to make it easier for the police to see it and to get the dirt off the vehicle.”
Police saw hood and front-end damage to the vehicle consistent with a pedestrian strike, they said.
Roberts was being held Monday at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.
Police spokesman Christopher Barraza said the woman struck in the collision remained at a local hospital in critical condition Sunday night.
Anchorage had a high number of pedestrians killed by cars last year, with 15 deaths. So far this year, drivers have killed three pedestrians in the city.
