Two ejected from vehicle, hospitalized

MEADOW LAKES — A southbound driver in a Ford Explorer vaulted 25 yards off the road Wednesday, landing herself and her passenger in critical condition.

Alaska State Troopers say neither the driver — Holly Sturgeon, 20, of Big Lake — nor her passenger — James Attaway, 30, of Big Lake — was wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said multiple calls to 911 came in just after 1 p.m., reporting the crash on the well-traveled section of the highway.

“At Mile 49.5, she lost control of the older-model Ford Explorer,” Peters said. “The vehicle hit the snowberm and launched.”

A trooper press statement says the sport utility vehicle flew 25 yards before coming to rest on its driver’s side in a field.

Sturgeon and Attaway were hospitalized. Sturgeon was admitted to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Attaway was airlifted to Alaska Regional Medical Center in Anchorage “for emergency surgery,” according to the press release.

Troopers say neither drugs nor alcohol appear to have played a role in the crash, but Peters said weather was likely a factor.

“We know that the road conditions are bad. There is what the sergeant called ‘frozen slime’ on the road,” Peters wrote in an email the day of the crash. “He said if you are driving 45 on the highway out there, you are going too fast.”

Peters noted that troopers were unsure as of Wednesday how fast Sturgeon was going, but said troopers encourage motorists to drive for the conditions.

“People should maintain a lower speed than the posted limit when road conditions are affected by the weather,” she said.

That particular stretch of the highway is one the state has identified as a safety problem. Mile 44.5 to Mile 53 of the Parks Highway is one of four sections of road that the state has designated as a highway safety corridor in an effort to reduce traffic crashes, and the state has begun work to upgrade that stretch of the Parks.

The other safety corridor in the Valley is along the first several miles of Knik-Goose Bay Road.

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