A drive to Soldotna Monday morning for one man was a close call with death, according to Alaska State Troopers.
While driving on the Seward Highway around 6:30 a.m., 39-year-old Nathan Shearer was shot at from another vehicle. While passing a vehicle near Mile 56, Shearer told troopers he “saw a flash, accompanied by a loud bang,” followed by his front passenger window breaking.
Shearer called 911 multiple times and stayed on the phone with dispatchers while continuing to head to Soldotna, troopers said in an online dispatch. When troopers investigated his vehicle, they found a bullet has “struck the front right passenger window, went through the compartment, in front of Shearer, barely missing him and exited the driver side window.”
Troopers were able to identify and find the driver of the vehicle from where the shot was fired. Troopers said the suspect, 22-year-old Doug Pardue of Kasilof, was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
He admitted to troopers that he had shot his gun out the window as Shearers passed him on the highway.
Troopers seized Pardue’s weapon and charged him with first-degree attempted murder, first- and fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon, third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. He is being held without bail, according to troopers.
