Car accident on Pioneer Drive July 6, 2021, Photo courtesy of Brandon Roberts
Valdez, AK – Valdez Police Department responded to reports of a vehicle collision behind the KCHU building late Wednesday afternoon.
At approximately 4:35 p.m. on Wednesday, Valdez Dispatch received multiple reports that a black 2014 Ram pickup truck had collided with several unoccupied parked vehicles and the southeast corner of the KCHU building at 148 Pioneer Drive. No injuries were reported.
Upon responding to the scene, officers observed the driver and sole occupant of the Ram truck, 33-year old Shane C. Murrill, standing between the truck and the wall of the building. Officers and a tenant of the building assisted Murrill from behind the vehicle. Murrill exhibited clear signs of impairment and failed standard field sobriety testing. Murrill also submitted to a preliminary breath alcohol test, which resulted in a negative result for alcohol.
Security camera footage shows Murrill first drove into the City Hall parking lot, parked in a parking space facing Chenega Avenue, and remained seated inside the vehicle for several minutes. Footage then shows Murrill suddenly drive at a high rate of speed over the curb out of the City Hall parking lot, across Chenega Avenue, and across the vacant snow lot, before colliding with two vehicles and the corner of the building.
Murrill was arrested and remanded to Valdez Jail on one count of Driving Under the Influence based on his level of impairment and one count of 5th Degree Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance for unlawful possession of Alprazolam, a schedule IV controlled substance. Following arraignment on Thursday afternoon, Murrill was released on his own recognizance with conditions and pretrial supervision requirements.
Following the collision, VPD officers utilized the city sUAS (drone) to investigate the scene. Under the recently adopted City of Valdez sUAS policy, public notification of flights performed for law enforcement purposes are made in real-time using an existing City notification platform. Advisory NIXLE notifications were utilized in this case at 6:27 p.m. on Wednesday to notify the public prior to the start of sUAS flights, and at 8:09 p.m. on Wednesday to notify the public sUAS flights had concluded. To view the full City sUAS policy, visit https://bit.ly/3yGi7j5.