Troopers arrest driver for DUI after North Pole stop on Holmes Road

A speeding, swerving van on a North Pole road ended with troopers arresting the driver on a charge of operating a vehicle under the influence Sunday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers were conducting routine traffic enforcement near Dennis Road and Holmes Road at about 1:38 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2026, when they saw a 1999 Ford van heading north on Dennis Road unable to hold its lane, according to the trooper dispatch. The van turned east onto Holmes Road, still drifting, and sped up to 72 mph in a 55 mph zone. Troopers stopped the vehicle and determined the driver was under the influence. Troopers did not release the driver's name, and the account of the stop comes solely from the trooper dispatch.

A Department of Public Safety dispatch dated Jan. 31 said troopers responded to a single-vehicle collision at the same intersection, Holmes Road and Dennis Road, and arrested that driver on charges of DUI and reckless driving. Alaska News has previously covered several North Pole DUI arrests this summer, including a June 27 welfare check on a driver parked in the roadway and a July 29 stop on Badger Road near Holmes Road.

Any charges reported in trooper dispatches are accusations. The driver is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.