Soldotna Police said Tuesday they arrested a 26-year-old Ninilchik resident on charges of vehicle theft after she allegedly took a truck from a Soldotna gas station and was pursued through Sterling.
According to a dispatch from the police, Hannah Kelson was arrested after police were called around 2 a.m. Tuesday by a man who reported his truck had been stolen from the Holiday Gas Station near Fred Meyer.
An affidavit included with charging documents said the vehicle had been left running with the keys inside while its owner was purchasing food.
Police caught up to the vehicle as it was traveling northbound on the Sterling Highway near Bing’s Landing, the affidavit said. A pair of officers pursued the truck through Sterling as the vehicle accelerated “at speeds excess of 100 miles per hour” before pulling over around 13 miles later near Peterson Lake.
The driver was identified as Kelson by her driver’s license.
The affidavit said Kelson told police she had been under the influence of methamphetamine and heroin “as recently as four hours prior,” but also that she “did not appear to be impaired at the time of the stop.”
Kelson was charged with first-degree vehicle theft and first-degree failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer. She was taken to Wildwood Pretrial and arraigned at the Kenai Courthouse on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled on Monday.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
