An Alaskan carver was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in Nome Saturday, authorities say.
Around 1 a.m., the Nome Police Department and Nome Volunteer Ambulance Department were dispatched to the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Bering Street after a reported collision between and pedestrian and a vehicle, police said.
Wagner Wongittilin, 54, was struck by a Ford Explorer driven by 30-year-old Adrienne Michels, police said. Wongittilin sustained “serious injuries,” a release said, and was later pronounced dead.
Michels initially left the area, but later returned and recounted the details of the collision to police, the release said.
Michels has been charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence, court records say.
Wongittilin’s next-of-kin have been notified. He is from Savoonga, located on St. Lawrence Island. The State Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy.