2 drivers facing penalties in 6-vehicle crash that closed Glenn Highway

Two of the drivers involved in the six-vehicle pileup that closed the Glenn Highway in Eagle River on Thursday morning have been cited for careless driving, police say.

The drivers — Timothy Sandlin Jr., who was driving a white 2013 Chevrolet Express, and Ronald Ellis, who was driving a white 2015 Nissan Rogue — were given citations for not taking “due care to avoid a collision," meaning driving “in an inattentive, careless, erratic, or negligent manner,” Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim said.

Police initially thought two cars merging onto the highway from the right had caused the crash near the South Eagle River exit, Thim said, but said Friday they believed all six vehicles were actually driving single file southbound in the left lane when crash happened.

Police believe the driver of a gray 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander at the front of the group stopped suddenly when they saw traffic stopping in front of them, Thim said.

Police think that caused Ellis, who was driving his Rogue near the back of the line, to rear end the blue 2006 Jeep Liberty in front of him, setting off a chain reaction, Thim said. The Liberty hit the red 2016 Mazda in front of it, which in turn rear-ended the white 2005 Chevrolet in front of it, Thim said. The Chevrolet then hit the Outlander that had originally stopped, according to police.

Sandlin, who was driving his Express behind Ellis’ Rogue, tried to swerve to avoid hitting the Rogue but rear-ended it anyway, Thim said.

Two of the vehicles, the Mazda and the 2005 Chevrolet, caught fire, police said. Those two drivers, who police say were rescued from their burning vehicles by good Samaritans who had stopped to help, were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Thim said Friday that he didn’t have any additional details about the crash, including whether any of the vehicles had passengers, whether any of the drivers were distracted, or why Sandlin and Ellis were the only drivers cited.

The highway was reopened at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, a little over an hour after police arrived on the scene.