Update, 8 a.m. Tuesday: Anchorage residents Cynthia Witt, 62, and Gary Witt, 69, were killed in the collision Sunday on the Parks Highway, Alaska State Troopers said. They had been in the pickup truck. Troopers had not released the name of the driver of the compact car by Tuesday morning.
Original story:
Three people died in a fiery crash on the Parks Highway just north of Willow Sunday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers said. The collision is the second fatal crash to occur over the weekend within about a mile stretch of the highway.
Troopers were called to Mile 87 of the highway just before 3 p.m., according to an online statement.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that a compact car with a single occupant was attempting to pass in a no-pass zone and struck a pickup truck with two occupants head-on,” troopers wrote.
The vehicles both became fully engulfed in flames and all three people inside died at the scene, troopers said. As of Sunday evening, troopers had not identified the people who died.
Both lanes of the highway closed for about six hours Sunday, reopening around 9 p.m.
The crash occurred about a mile away from the site of a deadly collision Saturday. A 20-year-old man from North Pole died and seven people were injured in the multi-vehicle collision.