Alaska State Troopers say an Anchorage woman arrested for a DUI in Aleknagik was abandoned by her passengers, who left the running vehicle facing oncoming traffic, with the unconscious driver's foot still pressing the gas pedal and the tires spinning.
Troopers said in a Monday dispatch that they received an anonymous tip at about 4:10 p.m. Sunday that a vehicle and a possibly intoxicated driver -- later identified as 23-year-old Elena Bartman-Wallman -- were stuck on Aleknagik Lake Road near Dillingham. When they responded to the scene, they found a small white car "facing into oncoming traffic."
"The white car was engulfed in white smoke from the front tires that were still spinning," troopers wrote. "The tires had been melted down to the rim. (Bartman-Wallman) was observed to be passed out in the driver seat and still had her foot on the gas pedal."
Troopers said multiple witnesses reported that the car's passengers ran away from the scene.
After safely turning the car off, troopers took Bartman-Wallman into custody on one count each of DUI and driving with a revoked license. She was initially taken to Dillingham's correctional center.
Troopers ask anyone with information on the passengers who fled the car to call Dillingham troopers at 842-5641.