Woman killed in Sunday crash

PALMER — A mother died in a vehicle crash on the Old Glenn Highway Sunday evening, eyewitnesses said.

Claudia R. Jacobs, 35, of Palmer, and formerly of Texas, was driving south near Mile 12.8, Old Glenn Highway about 9 p.m., Sunday when she apparently lost control of her tan 2002 Ford Expedition, according to Alaska State Troopers. The vehicle rolled multiple times, troopers said. Eyewitnesses said the vehicle came to rest at the side of the road.

Passersby found a 10-year-old boy wandering nearby, moved him away from the truck, and tried to comfort him. He identified Jacobs as his mother, said Mat-Su Borough School District Board Member Deborah Retherford, who was among the passersby who stopped to help.

Troopers said the child had been in the passenger seat of the car when it rolled.

“We didn’t see it happen,” Retherford said. “It had just happened when we got there. My husband ran over to it.”

The 10-year-old had jumped out of the passenger side and was running around looking for someone to help, Retherford said.

She said her goal was to keep the child talking while emergency responders came.

“He’s a student at Butte Elementary school,” Retherford said. “I know his teacher and his principal. I just talked to him about things I knew at the school. They had apparently just moved here two weeks ago. I’ve been pretty heartsick about it all day.”

Responding troopers had not noticed any adverse road or weather conditions, according to spokeswoman Megan Peters.

“We have information that the woman had drank alcoholic beverages earlier in the day, however it is unknown at this time if impairment was a factor,” she said. “We will do the standard toxicology testing and see what the results say.”

Speed may also have played a factor in the wreck, Peters added.

The crash is the third traffic fatality on Valley roads this year.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.