Teen hospitalized after tragic crash

PALMER -- A 17-year-old Palmer boy remains in serious condition at Providence Hospital after the car he was riding in with two others swerved off the road Wednesday and vaulted into an embankment.

Andrew Sandvik was medivaced to Providence Hospital by Lifeflight while the other two, driver Hollis Honeycutt, 17, and Edward Bent,

21, were treated for head injuries at Valley Hospital then released.

Alaska State Troopers and emergency crews were called at about 4:30 a.m. to the scene of the crash, on Palmer Fishhook Road. The 1995 dodge Neon sedan driven by

Honeycutt had gone out of control due to high speeds, veered across the road in an impact that broke trees before finally landing inside the treeline, according to trooper

reports.

Sgt. Dennis Ponder, the investigating trooper, said emergency crews needed to cut a trail through the trees in order to get to the vehicle.

Sandvik, riding in the back seat, sustained the most serious injuries and remained in a coma Monday morning at Providence, according to trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson.

According to troopers, alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash, and an investigation is ongoing. Charges may be forwarded to the district attorney's office, pending the investigation, Ponder said Friday.