Seward man charged after driving truck with daughters inside into Resurrection Bay, police say

SEWARD, Alaska (KTUU) - Seward police arrested a man after he drove his Chevrolet pickup truck into Resurrection Bay while his three daughters and a loaded rifle were in the vehicle.

According to an affidavit filed by Seward Police, 44-year-old Cash Christensen was charged with three counts of third-degree assault and two counts of third-degree misconduct involving weapons on Jan. 1, 2023, after he submerged his vehicle near the mariner’s memorial at the small boat harbor in Seward on Dec. 30, 2022.

Police wrote that they received the initial report a vehicle had gone into the bay at 8:17 p.m. on Dec. 30.

“James Gudobba arrived on scene and helped Cash and his three daughters get out of the sinking vehicle,” police wrote. “Gudobba went to Subway to call the police after helping Cash and his daughters out of the vehicle and onto dry land.”

Police wrote that the vehicle had driven through a “large hard packed snow berm” and a concrete post to get to the waters of Resurrection Bay. In an interview with Seward Police conducted at Christensen’s home later on Dec. 30, he told police that he had attempted to stop the vehicle, which suffered a mechanical issue. He also said that he had an Uzi rifle in the truck loaded with a 25-round magazine.

The vehicle was removed from the water on Dec. 31 at 3 p.m., according to the affidavit. Police wrote that the rifle was in plain view in between the front seats and that witnesses who were at the small boat harbor when Christensen’s truck went into the water said that the vehicle accelerated to somewhere between 30 and 40 mph before entering the water. Witnesses told police that the brakes were never utilized and that they heard the engine rev before going into the water.

Then, on Jan. 1 at 12 p.m., a family member of Cash Christensen called Seward police to say that they were safely watching over Christensen’s three daughters.

“Cash had admitted to her grandmother ... that he had been doing brodies in the parking lot at the small boat harbor when he went into the water,” police wrote.

When reached by police on Jan. 1, Christensen told Seward police that “it was an accident” but refused to explain how. He also refused to go to the Seward Police Department to speak in person or provide his location. Alaska State Troopers reported at 3:12 p.m. on Jan. 1 that Christensen had been taken into custody.

Online court records show that Christensen was arraigned at the Kenai Courthouse on Jan. 2 at 10 a.m.

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