A driver involved in a Midtown Anchorage crash that sent two people to the hospital early Saturday was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police say.
Patrol officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Denali Street around 3:36 a.m., the Anchorage Police Department said in an alert Saturday.
A preliminary investigation indicated that a GMC Safari was traveling west on Northern Lights on a green light when a Jeep Commander traveling north on Denali Street entered the intersection through a red light, and the two vehicles collided, police said.
Two men in the GMC Safari — the driver and the front-seat passenger — were taken to the hospital, according to police. Police described the driver’s injuries as life-threatening and the passenger’s injuries as serious. A teenage boy in the rear passenger seat was not injured, police said.
Police said the driver and sole occupant of the Jeep, who they identified as 32-year-old Roderick L. McClam, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after exhibiting signs of impairment and failing a sobriety test. He was taken to the Anchorage jail and faces charges of DUI and two counts of first-degree assault, police said. McClam didn’t appear to be hurt, according to police.
The crash resulted in temporary closures of Northern Lights Boulevard between Eagle and Denali streets, along with a few blocks of Denali Street, while police investigated the scene. All lanes had reopened by 10 a.m. Saturday.