Two Anchorage pedestrians were struck and killed by vehicles over the weekend, according to police.
That brings the total number of fatal vehicle-pedestrian crashes in Anchorage in September to six, the most in a single month since at least 2013, according to city traffic data.
At around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, police responded to a fatal vehicle-pedestrian accident at the intersection of East 36th Avenue and the Seward Highway. A man, later identified as 79-year-old Ambrose Aguchak, was struck by two different vehicles as he crossed the northbound lanes, about 500 feet from a crosswalk, according to police. Aguchak was transported to a hospital where he was declared dead.
On Saturday night, at 9:07 p.m., Anchorage police responded to another accident near West Northern Lights Boulevard and Minnesota Drive. Crystal Anvil, 38, was struck by a car while crossing the westbound lanes, about 500 feet from a crosswalk, police said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The drivers were not charged in either incident, according to police.
The deaths bring this year’s total number of fatal pedestrian-vehicle crashes to 13. Police say that’s as many crashes as seen in 2023 and 2022 combined: 2023 had six fatal vehicle-pedestrian collisions, while 2022 had seven.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the names of the victims of the two most recent fatal collisions.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
