The Associated Press
Published: May 22, 2006
Last Modified: May 22, 2006 at 12:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Two people, including the daughter of a cable
television reality show star, died when their stolen vehicle rolled,
authorities said.
Driver Scott Standefer II and Barbara Katy Chapman, daughter of Duane
"Dog" Chapman, were killed in the accident Friday on Chena Hot Springs
Road, Alaska State Troopers said.
The couple, both 23 and from North Pole, tried using a stolen credit
card to rent a room Friday at Chena Hot Springs Resort, Trooper Jeremy
Stone said. The resort is about 50 miles northeast of Fairbanks.
The two were driving back toward Fairbanks when their SUV went off the
road, rolled, hit some trees and landed upside down.
"There is no clue as to why they left the roadway," Stone said. "There
are absolutely no skid marks on the road. They just went off the road,
hit an embankment and launched."
Troopers suspect drugs or alcohol may have played a role in the crash,
spokesman Greg Wilkinson said Monday. Toxicology tests were scheduled
on the bodies, which were transferred to Anchorage for autopsies.
The vehicle had been reported stolen Thursday from a home on Chena Hot
Springs Road.
"(Barbara) had gotten herself into a terrible mess," Lyssa Chapman said
of her daughter.
"She was trying as hard as she could to put her life back together,"
she told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
The accident occurred a day before her father, Duane Chapman, star of
A&E's reality show "Dog the Bounty Hunter," married his longtime
partner, Beth Smith, in Hawaii.
He gathered with his 10 surviving children - two of whom he had with
Smith - and discussed whether to proceed with the wedding. They
unanimously decided to celebrate both the wedding and her life.
Barbara Chapman, who had not been expected to attend the wedding, is
survived by her mother and her 4-year-old son, Travis Drake-Lee Chapman.
> "(Barbara) had gotten herself into a terrible mess," Lyssa Chapman said
> of her daughter.
That's an understatement.
Mark
Just like "she was trying hard to clean up her life" (or whatever the hell
they said along those lines was a vast OVERstatement.
But it's ok because she was surrounded by
family members supporting her
as she tried to clean up.
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