Story Archive

Drivers Wanted

The Community Service Patrol in Anchorage, Alaska, picks up people for a “sleep-off center” where drunks can, well, sleep it off in safety. As their van sat on the street to pick up another passenger, a taxi pulled up, and the passenger got out, got into the van, “revved the engine and took off,” a police spokesman said. The driver took it the wrong way on a one-way street, causing traffic to scatter and flood 911 with panic calls. He then hit a tour bus, continued on despite a flat tire — and stopped in front of a bar. A witness flagged down police and pointed the driver out, and Donny H. Weston, 35, was charged with vehicle theft, criminal mischief, leaving the scene of an accident, driving while intoxicated, driving without a valid license, and reckless endangerment. The passengers in the back? They had no idea that anything was out of the ordinary. (RC/Anchorage Daily News) ...“Yeah,” one said. “He drove just like we all do.”