Three people died in two Southcentral Alaska vehicle crashes in one day over the Christmas weekend, including a passenger fatally struck by a vehicle running a red light in Anchorage.
The crashes occurred less than two hours apart on Saturday afternoon, with the first – at Mile 170 of the Glenn Highway near Glennallen – reported to Alaska State Troopers at about 2:40 p.m. According to an online dispatch, a northbound Subaru Crosstrek driven by 26-year-old Lloyd Lefevere with sole passenger 21-year-old Raycina Torres “departed its lane for unknown reasons” and struck a southbound Chevrolet pickup truck head-on.
Troopers said Lefevere and Torres, both Anchorage residents, died at the scene despite lifesaving measures performed on Torres. Their families have been notified, with their bodies sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
No citations were initially issued in the collision, which closed the highway for about 90 minutes Saturday. Nothing further on the crash was immediately available Tuesday, according to troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel.
The second collision, in downtown Anchorage at 9th Avenue and Ingra Street, took place just after 4 p.m. Saturday. Police said in a statement that 39-year-old Gina Amik had been riding in a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV headed east on 9th, when a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck heading north on Ingra ran a red light and struck the Tahoe.
Amik was declared dead at the scene, police said, with the man driving the Tacoma taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No citations were initially issued in the crash.
Police spokesman Kenny Friendly declined to answer further questions about the collision Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators are asking anyone who saw the collision, or either of the vehicles involved in traffic before the crash, to call them at 907-786-8672.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
