A 47-year-old man died in a single vehicle car crash early Thursday morning, as he was unable to escape a vehicle that upside down in a ditch submerged in water.
Police said the man — identified as Matthew Curtis Beecroft — was a passenger in a blue Nissan Xterra that went off the roadway in the 9300 block of Glacier Highway and overturned onto its roof.
Responding police officers and EMTs found the vehicle resting in about three feet of water, and the driver — a 30-year-old man who escaped with minor injuries — told them the passenger was still trapped inside the vehicle.
“Officers attempted to remove the passenger from the vehicle, but the passenger was pinned against a part of the vehicle that was completely submerged,” the Juneau Police Department release said. “JPD and CCFR confirmed the passenger, identified as a 47-year-old male, was deceased.”
A police investigation into the crash is still ongoing, with JPD detectives and an accident reconstruction team investigating.
Alcohol consumption does appear to be a factor in the cause of the crash, JPD said.
“The initial investigation shows that the driver of the vehicle had been at a local liquor establishment in the Auke Bay area and had picked up the passenger to give him a ride,” the release states. “The vehicle was travelling from the direction of Egan Drive//Mendenhall Loop Road, towards the airport, when the vehicle lost control, overturned and went into the ditch.”
The driver, a Juneau resident, was transported to the Bartlett Regional Hospital for evaluation, due to minor injuries sustained during the crash. A search warrant was obtained for his blood to determine his blood alcohol concentration. The driver was released from custody, pending analysis of the blood draw.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
