Investigators sort out cause of accident

WASILLA — Tim Abell remembers every detail of the crash that landed him, his stepdaughter and five others in the hospital Saturday.

“My daughter and I were talking and obviously she was concentrating on driving, but we were having a good conversation and I heard her gasp,” Abell said Thursday. “It all happened in the blink of an eye.”

His stepdaughter, 19-year-old Donna Gallant, didn’t even have time to react before a Chevrolet Blazer turned in front of her Plymouth Horizon sedan on the Parks Highway near Johnson Road. Abell said he was knocked unconscious and awoke about 10 minutes later.

“When I came to, I shut off the ignition to the car. I unbuckled my seatbelt. I unbuckled my daughter’s seatbelt,” he said.

Medics then started trying to pull him out of the car.

“I told them, ‘No, you get my daughter out and once she’s out I’ll go with you anywhere,’” Abell said.

When the dust had settled, the accident sent seven people to hospitals, including Gallant and Abell, 44. The 15-year-old driver of the Blazer also went to the hospital, as did four of her passengers, including Kyle Bissonette, 20, Wasilla, and three juveniles.

Gallant, who was more than eight months pregnant, lost her baby, a girl, to the accident, Abell said.

Rumors of what went on in the Blazer to cause it to swerve from the southbound lane of the Parks Highway into the northbound lane have swirled through the Valley since the accident, some called in to the Frontiersman. Abell said he’s heard rumors as well and hasn’t quite made up his mind what to make of them.

So far, Alaska State Troopers aren’t confirming or discounting any theories rumors.

“It’s extremely complicated,” Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said about the investigation and figuring out what contributed to the accident. “We have heard many allegations being made … we are determined to find out what transpired.”

Abell said he feels for the other families involved, one he’s known for more than 20 years. They’re going through pain similar to his own. But, he said, if it’s proven there was negligence on the other side of the road that day, he’ll be all for punishing whoever is found responsible.

“Lives are ruined,” he said. “There’s a young life that never even had the opportunity of being loved.”

Legally, at least, repercussions could be severe. Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said he’s familiar with the accident and that there is a manslaughter charge prosecutors could pursue if there’s evidence of recklessness or other malfeasance.

“With many of these cases there’s a good possibility that eventually they end up at our office,” Kalytiak said. “But, as with all these vehicular cases, it’s going to depend on what the investigation reveals.

“The big issue’s going to be what caused that car to cross the center line,” Kalytiak added. “Was it an intention? Was it an accident? Was it mechanical?”

The baby’s father, Jason Campbell, said a memorial is planned for the baby girl at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Valley Funeral Home.

“I’m really hurt. I’m really lost,” Campbell said Thursday. “I could really just use the extra help and love in the Valley right now. I didn’t realize how many friends and family I have here until this happened.”

He said he and Gallant had dated for 18 months, but had broken up a week before the accident. He said he hoped to repair their relationship and help raise their baby girl, who they planned to name Keira.

Meanwhile, Abell said Gallant is undergoing surgery to help repair multiple injuries. But, he said, his daughter’s a fighter and he expects her to pull through.

He said he and his family can count on friends and family, who have already been huge comfort.

And then there are all the professionals helping Gallant now and who helped her Saturday. Abell choked up when talking about those emergency responders.

“Those wonderful people from the fire department, state troopers and [Mat-Su Regional Medical Center],” he said. “They saved my daughter’s life and I can never thank them enough for what they did because she was on death’s door and they saved her life.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.