A 59-year-old Anchorage woman was arrested early Thursday morning after leading Soldotna police on a high-speed pursuit before being taken into custody on suspicion of impaired driving.
According to court documents and police dispatch records, the incident began around 1:20 a.m. on Aug. 14, when Officer Marek Grieme attempted to stop a 2005 Ford Expedition traveling 59 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone at Endicott Drive and Kalifornsky Beach Road, near Cook Inlet Academy. Instead of stopping, the vehicle sped away, reaching speeds of more than 90 mph, swerving out of its lane, and passing cars in the left-hand turn lane as it headed toward Buoy Avenue.
The vehicle eventually came to a stop after leading police on an approximately 10-mile chase, and the driver was identified as Annie Heinrich. Police said Heinrich showed signs of impairment, including difficulty walking, slurred speech, and trouble staying awake. She was unable to complete several field sobriety tests, at one point misstating letters of the alphabet and slurring her words so heavily that the officer could not understand her…