ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Police in Alaska, who thought they were in hot pursuit of a robbery suspect, ended up charging their quarry with drug possession and reckless driving.

The chase began when officers responding to a report of a robbery at the Oaken Keg liquor store in Anchorage, Alaska, saw a 1991 maroon Chevrolet Lumina leaving the parking lot at high speed, The Anchorage Daily News reported. Assuming that the robbery suspect was in the car, they pursued it.

The driver kept going after police used a spike strip to blow out two of his tires and after he hit another car turning in at a gas station. The driver took off on foot after the car went into a ditch.

"I was surprised he got as far as he did," said Tyler Carlson, whose car was involved in the collision. "It was impressive; it was like watching extreme videos or something."

A suspect was arrested about half an hour after the car was abandoned. Police said they found heroin and cocaine in the vehicle.

Witnesses said the drug-bust suspect wasn't the liquor store robber. The robbery is believed to have been carried out by a man suspected of having held up two banks.