Alaska State Troopers attempted to stop a vehicle for swerving across the center and fog lanes on the Kenai Spur Highway, a little after 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. It led to a pursuit and a fatal collision.
The vehicle failed to stop, turned off the Kenai Spur Highway and a short pursuit began, according to the state’s online trooper dispatch. The vehicle crashed at the intersection of the Kenai Spur Highway at Island Lake Road in Nikiski.
Investigation revealed that Olivia Mapes, age 22 of Nikiski, was driving a Subaru sedan when she failed to stop at the intersection of Wik Road and the Kenai Spur Highway. The sedan struck a northbound Chevy pickup driven by Eric Clark, age 63 of Soldotna, which was pulling an ATV trailer. Mapes suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on-scene.
Mapes was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, according to troopers, and was found to have outstanding arrest warrants.
The occupants of the Chevy were seat-belted and suffered no injuries. Next-of-kin of Mapes have been notified, and troopers say the investigation is continuing.
