1 dead, 4 injured in Glenn Highway crash

KNIK RIVER — One woman died and four others were injured in a three-vehicle crash on the northbound lanes of the Glenn Highway Thursday evening, authorities say.

Alaska State Troopers responded with the Anchorage Police Department for reports of the crash near the Knik River Bridge at Mile 31, Glenn Highway around 6 p.m., March 12.

Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the accident occurred when a 2008 Chevy Colorado driven by Trenton Shepersky, 22, of Wasilla, left the southbound lanes, crossed the highway median, and collided with the motor home driven by French national Alex Violet, 27, and a Department of Public Safety van driven by Judicial Services Officer Jeremy Doty, 43, of Palmer.

The identity of the deceased has not been released, pending notification of next-of-kin, Peters said.

Shepersky was flown via helicopter to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, where his status was listed as undetermined Friday morning, according to a hospital spokesman. Hospital spokesman Mike Canfield said that designation commonly refers to patients who are being assessed by doctors.

Doty, Violet, Beryl Vigneri, 30, of British Columbia, and Misa Shimiza, 25, of Japan were all taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer.

Shimiza was listed in good condition, according to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center spokesman Alan Craft. Doty received minor injuries in the collision, according to the dispatches. And Violet and Vigneri were treated and released.

Peters said the occupants of the motor home — Shimiza, Vigneri, Violet, and the unidentified deceased person — were tourists visiting Alaska.

Traffic on the highway was diverted around the scene onto the Knik bridge exits for several hours while emergency personnel cared for the injured, prepared people for transport, and officers investigated the circumstances of the collision, according to trooper dispatch and eye witnesses.

Troopers have not ruled out road surface conditions or mechanical failures as contributing to the crash, she said. They also could not yet say whether drugs or alcohol played a role, Peters said.

"When things are happening, and there are so many moving components, it takes time to sort through the information," she said.

The incident remains under investigation, she said.

Managing editor Heather A. Resz contributed reporting to this story.