3 die in rollover

CHICKALOON — A Valdez woman and her two children died Thursday afternoon when their Toyota SUV left the Glenn Highway near Mile 86 and landed upside down in pond near Long Lake, about Mile 86 of the Glenn Highway.

Patrol Troopers and members of the Bureau of Highway Patrol, South Central Team responded to the area about 4:40 p.m. after a passerby saw the vehicle’s lights beneath the water and called 911, according to dispatch communications during the response.

Alaska State Trooper Spokeswoman Megan Peters said investigation determined that Leah Thompson, 28, of Valdez, and her two children — Avery McIntosh, 5, and Trinity McIntosh, 7 — were traveling southbound on the Glenn Highway when Thompson lost control of the Toyota and slid off the road. The vehicle rolled at least once, coming to rest partially submerged in Long Lake, Peters said.

Cliff Silvers, chief of the Mat-Su Borough’s Dive Rescue Team, said team members from across the borough responded to the scene with their protective suits.

“The first responder there with a suit on was able to get the two children out of the car seats. They were still strapped in,” Silvers said.

By the time Silvers arrived on scene someone — he thinks probably a local — had attached a chain to the SUV and pulled it partially out of the water.

“Initially, it was upside down,” Silvers said, but responders were able to right it.

One thing that frustrated Silvers’ understanding of what happened is that nobody saw the SUV break through the ice, so responders don’t know how long the three were in the water, which is a crucial piece of information. Silvers said tire tracks had been obscured — either by falling snow or by wind blowing snow that had already fallen — but that the car wasn’t down long enough for the ice to re-freeze around it.

Weather, he said, was almost definitely a factor.

“The roads up here right now are atrocious,” Silvers said as he traveled back to the core area of the Valley. Visibility was poor. Snow was setting up in drifts across the highway. “Twenty-five to 35 mph is all you can drive.”

Peters backed up that assessment.

“The highway is closed for an unspecified amount of time. We encourage motorists to avoid the area. Driving conditions are not ideal and motorists are encouraged to use the utmost caution while driving in winter conditions,” Peters wrote.

The accident was one of many that kept emergency responders scrambling in the late afternoon and early evening hours Thursday.

An accident near the intersection of Lucille Street and Spruce Avenue left a vehicle in a ditch, and another at Vine and Shady Grove roads involved as many as six children, according to initial reports. The children were treated at the scene for various injuries and transported to local medical facilities.

The injuries from that accident were not immediately reported as being life-threatening.