Steven Whorton arrested after eluding from police and crashing into another vehicle

At 12:37 AM on March 19, 2023, a mid-shift patrol officer initiated a traffic stop on a 1998 green Ford Expedition for speeding.  The officer activated his patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens.  The Ford’s driver did not yield and instead ran through the red light at the intersection of Old Seward Highway and Dimond Boulevard.  Due to the suspect driver’s dangerous driving behavior, the officer terminated the pursuit and did not follow the Ford which was last seen being driven northbound at a high rate of speed on Old Seward.  The officer aired a locate for the vehicle over the radio.

A few minutes later, at 12:43 AM, another mid-shift officer advised the eluding Ford had been involved in a crash at E Dowling Road and Austin Road. The Ford’s driver, later identified as 32-year-old Steven M. Whorton, fled the collision site on foot headed westbound.

Officers located Whorton jumping over the fence in a residential backyard near E 64th Avenue and Libra Place.  The officers gave Whorton commands which he complied with; Whorton was taken into custody without further incident. He was positively identified as the person who eluded the police officer near Old Seward and Dimond, and as the driver who collided with the Chevy on Austin Road.  Whorton was remanded at the Anchorage Jail on the charges of Fail to Stop, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Violate Conditions of Release, and two counts of Assault III.  He was also cited for Driving with a Revoked License and for being a delinquent traffic offender.

Initial indications are that Whorton was driving northbound on Austin Road when he failed to stop for the stop sign and collided with a 2013 red Chevy Impala being driven eastbound on Dowling.  The adult passenger in Whorton’s vehicle, and all four occupants in the Chevy, had suspected minor injuries.  Whorton was the only involved person who was not injured.  Medics did evaluate the Chevy’s driver at the scene.

APD Case 23-9004 and 23-9007

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