Driver of stolen pickup smashes into Anchorage police car

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A man suspected of ramming a stolen pickup into an Anchorage police car has been arrested on suspicion of felony assault.

Peter Tonga, 25, was arrested shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, Anchorage police announced. Online court documents do not list his attorney.

Police at 6:53 took a call from a woman in northeast Anchorage. She said her pickup had been outside running with the key in it when she heard it being driven off.

A dispatcher broadcast a description of the stolen pickup. Eight minutes after the truck owner called, a detective spotted the stolen truck in the parking lot of the Mush Inn motel.

The detective pulled into the parking lot and activated overhead emergency lights. Tonga, police said, drove straight into the front of the detective’s car and tried to drive off. Other arriving officers blocked him in and he was arrested.

The detective struck his head when his car was head, police said. He was evaluated at a hospital and released. Police said they would forward additional charges of vehicle theft, failure to stop and criminal mischief to prosecutors for consideration.