Icy roads contributed to a deadly four-car collision that closed the outbound Glenn Highway for hours Tuesday afternoon, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
Police on Wednesday identified the person killed in the wreck, which took place between Muldoon Road and Turpin Street around noon Tuesday, as 19-year-old Eagle River resident Jonathan Blake Zollinger. Two other people were injured in the wreck.
"The investigation revealed that a Subaru sedan, driven by (Zollinger), was travelling inbound on the Glenn Highway between Muldoon and Turpin when his vehicle crossed the median divide and collided with oncoming (outbound) traffic," police wrote. "The Subaru side-swiped a Chevy Tahoe before colliding with a Chevy Malibu, and a Ford Crown Victoria Yellow Cab."
Zollinger was declared dead at the scene. Medics took the Malibu's driver, who did not suffer life-threatening injuries, to a local hospital while the Yellow Cab driver told police he would seek medical attention on his own.
"The outbound lanes of the Glenn Highway were closed for several hours while officers investigated the crash," police wrote. "Icy road conditions were deemed to be a contributing factor."
APD spokesperson Renee Oistad said police hadn't received any reports of Zollinger speeding prior to the collision. There also weren't any signs he had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, though a standard autopsy and toxicology tests were ordered.
"Of course all that testing was done on the driver, and we'll know for sure when it comes back," Oistad said.
Following overnight freezing rain on many local roads, Oistad said APD received reports Tuesday of 25 vehicles in distress, 33 noninjury accidents and nine injury accidents — all more than double Monday's totals.
The Glenn wasn't fully reopened until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.