A driver in a deadly single-vehicle crash that closed the Seward Highway near Girdwood for hours early Saturday now faces criminal charges in the wreck.
Court records show Wyatt Flotre, 23, charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence in the collision near Mile 92.5 of the highway, just north of its junction with the Alyeska Highway to Girdwood.
The crash happened just before 4 a.m. Saturday. Police said in a statement that a male passenger in the vehicle, 20-year-old Eeamon Johnston, died at the scene, with Flotre taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police spokesman Christopher Barraza said Monday morning that the vehicle involved in the crash was a BMW M5 sedan. Initial reports to police indicated that Flotre was traveling at high speed just before the crash, Barraza said. But he said investigators haven’t determined the sedan’s exact speed when it wrecked.
"Some of our 911 callers said they thought he was going at least 100 miles per hour," Barraza said.
According to a charging document against Flotre, he had been headed south at the time of the crash near Alaska Railroad tracks in the area. He allegedly told police he had been drinking and had used a dab pen before driving.
“Wyatt states that he looked down at his phone for a brief second, hit some water and lost control,” police said in the charges. “The vehicle was estimated at the scene to have traveled 40 feet through the air, over the train tracks, before coming to rest back on the tracks.”
Police requested and received a warrant for a sample of Flotre’s blood, which showed him to be over Alaska’s legal alcohol limit for driving, the charges said. He also allegedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests conducted at the hospital.
Police said the crash closed the highway until about 8:20 a.m. Saturday.
Court records show Flotre made an initial court appearance in the case Sunday afternoon.
