Two Anchorage men have been arrested after troopers used spike strips to stop them speeding along the Sterling Highway on Sunday.
Jesse Skjegstad, 19, and his passenger, 22-year-old Justin Thomassen, were noticed speeding around 3:25 p.m. Sunday near mile 70 of the Sterling Highway, according to an online Alaska State Troopers dispatch. The 2000 Audi Sedan sped up as it continued southbound on the highway, “reaching speeds of over 130 (miles per hour),” troopers wrote in the dispatch.
Around mile 87 of the highway, troopers used spike strips which caused the vehicle to go into the ditch and roll at least once, according to the dispatch. Both men were treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries before being taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility.
Troopers found that Thomassen was on felony probation and had two arrest warrants totalling $10,500 after he gave them a fake name, troopers wrote in the dispatch. Skjegstad was charged with failure to stop in the first degree, assault in the third degree and reckless driving. Thomassen was taken in for the warrants and violating probation.
Thomassen failed to appear at a hearing in Anchorage on March 31 for a 2014 case in which he was charged with driving in violation of a license limitation, not having vehicle liability insurance and misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree, a class C felony, according to Courtview. The charges were originally dismissed but were re-filed, according to Courtview.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
