WASILLA, AK -- An Alaska state trooper was injured early Monday morning after his cruiser overturned off Trunk Road between Palmer and Wasilla.
Trooper Christopher B. Bitz, 26, was en route to the Parks Highway about 2 a.m. where a woman was reported to be walking in traffic.
Bitz, just 10 months on the job, was southbound when he lost control of the car, according to troopers. The patrol car rolled down a 75-foot embankment near the University of Alaska Experimental Farm and came to rest on its roof. A trooper report said Bitz was able to free himself from the wreckage and was standing at the scene when another trooper arrived.
The woman on the highway, Shauna Hoover, 32, of Palmer, had been struck by a 17-year-old driver. The Wasilla Police Department is investigating that accident. Wasilla police Sgt. Kelly Swihart said he didn't expect the teenager would face criminal charges.
Swihart said Hoover was drunk when the mirror on the teen's vehicle hit her. She was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center with a gash in her head, according to troopers.
Bitz also was taken to the nearby hospital with head and neck injuries, troopers reported. The hospital at noon Monday reported no patient there by his name. Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters by e-mail stated troopers would release no further medical information regarding Bitz.
She also said the accident is being investigated just as any other such incident would be.
The trooper's car hit support cables for a new power pole and is considered a total loss. Peters said the car was worth about $19,000 excluding equipment that might be salvaged.