A Missouri man was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on eight counts in connection with the crash of a stolen car last week which Anchorage police say left three people, including himself, in critical condition.
Kevin Wright, of Joplin, Mo., has been charged with five counts of first-degree assault, as well as one count each of failing to stop at the direction of a peace officer, first-degree vehicle theft and driving without a valid driver’s license. Wright, 24, was arrested Tuesday upon his release from a local hospital for treatment of hip injuries.
At his arraignment, Wright told a judge who asked about his occupation that he sells compact discs. He asked the court if he could see his son.
According to APD, Wright was at the wheel of a 2005 silver Dodge sedan which police were pursuing south along C Street at about 11 p.m. on Dec. 9. He allegedly ran a red light at 15th Avenue and the sedan, with Wright and four other people inside, struck a Chevrolet Blazer SUV headed east along 15th driven by 31-year-old Mylinda Forrester.
APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker said Tuesday that Forrester was the only person injured in the crash who remains hospitalized. She is able to communicate with family and medical staff, and has significantly improved since the crash.
While charging documents didn’t provide a full account of what happened that night, the assault counts allege that Wright caused “serious physical injury” to Forrester as well as Localsitta Tapuolo, Demitri Scott, Lawrence Tauta and Ashley Deacon.
The theft count also lists the owners of the sedan Wright allegedly stole as Cerwin Orduna and Charmaine Gutierrez.
Wright is being held on $50,000 cash bail, with a court-approved third-party custodian required for release.
Contact Rebecca Palsha and Chris Klint
