PALMER — Two people were found dead Monday after their car rolled over into a creek in the Big Lake area, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers said they were notified at 11:50 a.m. Monday about a Hyundai sedan found upside down in Meadow Creek near Beaver Lake Road. Troopers, along with emergency responders, located both people dead inside the vehicle, they said. The passenger compartment was fully submerged, according to troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel.
In an update Monday night, troopers identified the occupants as Big Lake resident Michael Reagan, 52, and Fairbanks resident Binta Tabane, 30.
It wasn’t clear exactly when the rollover occurred. Reagan and Tabane left a home in the area sometime after 4 p.m. Sunday, McDaniel said. Someone passing Meadow Creek notified troopers on Monday, he said.
A trooper at the scene Monday determined that Reagan was driving at a high rate of speed when he lost control and crashed into the water, McDaniel said. The State Medical Examiner Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the causes of Reagan and Tabane’s deaths, he said.