Pieces from a single vehicle accident near Mile 20 remain along Glacier Highway on Friday, Nov. 22. The Thursday morning accident left two dead and two in critical condition. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Pieces from a single vehicle accident near Mile 20 remain along Glacier Highway on Friday, Nov. 22. The Thursday morning accident left two dead and two in critical condition. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Police say alcohol and speed appear to be factors in fatal wreck

Authorities identify a deceased passenger

Alcohol and speed appear to have been factors in a fatal single-vehicle wreck Thursday morning, police said.

A woman and teenager died at the scene of the crash, which was reported shortly before 7 a.m., according to Juneau Police Department. Two young men were in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Friday afternoon.

The Glacier Highway crash that killed 19-year-old Abigail Kelley and a 15-year-old boy, whose name was not released, occurred after the vehicle went off the roadway at high speed, said JPD public information officer Erann Kalwara in a press release. The SUV then struck a power pole.

The vehicle flipped several times before coming to rest 60 yards from the pole, according to JPD. Both of the deceased were thrown from the vehicle.

Autopsies will be performed on both Kelley and the juvenile by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, according to JPD.

After the crash, residents near Glacier Highway Mile 20 were left without power for several hours, according to Alaska Electric Light & Power, but the company announced at 5:15 p.m. Thursday it was restored.

The two survivors remain in the intensive care unit, said Susan Gregg, Harborview public information officer.

Kalwara said in the release that the driver is in critical condition and medically unstable, and that the passenger is critical but stable as of 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.

The investigation by JPD detectives and the Major Accident Response Team is ongoing.

A memorial cross has been erected at the crash site.


• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.


More in News

Jasmine Chavez, a crew member aboard the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, waves to her family during a cell phone conversation after disembarking from the ship at Marine Park on May 10. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of Sept. 7

Here’s what to expect this week.

Workers at the Alaska Division of Elections’ State Review Board consider ballots on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the division’s headquarters in Juneau. At background is the Alaska State Capitol. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
After Alaska’s primary election, here’s how the state’s legislative races are shaping up

Senate’s bipartisan coalition appears likely to continue, but control of the state House is a tossup.

Nutaaq Doreen Simmonds (left) and Xáalnook Erin Tripp star in the play “Cold Case,” focusing on issues involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, which is now performing at Perseverance Theatre. (Akiko Nishijima Rotch / Perseverance Theatre)
Perseverance’s ‘Cold Case’ tops NYT’s list of ‘15 Shows to See on Stages Around the U.S. This Fall’

Award-winning play about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons showing in Juneau until Sept. 22.

Police and other emergency officials treat Steven Kissack after he was fatally shot on Front Street on Monday, July 15, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
UPDATE: Bodycam footage of Steven Kissack shooting, results of state investigation scheduled for release Tuesday

Videos, originally scheduled for Friday release, delayed until JPD gets state report, police chief says.

Workers construct a greenhouse behind the Edward K. Thomas building during the summer of 2021. The greenhouse is part of a food sovereignty project by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, which this week received a $15 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to establish or expand composting operations in five Southast Alaska communities including Juneau. (Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska photo)
Tlingit and Haida gets $15M EPA grant for composting operations in five Southeast Alaska communities

Funds will establish or expand programs in Juneau, Wrangell, Hoonah, Petersburg and Yakutat.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo
State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, speaks during a rally on behalf of Alaska residents with disabilities at the Alaska State Capitol on March 1, 2023.
Bills by Juneau legislator adding official Indigenous state languages, upgrading dock safety become law

Safety bill by Rep. Story also contains provision by Sen. Kiehl expanding disaster aid eligibility.

Nutaaq Doreen Simmonds (foreground) and Xáalnook Erin Tripp star in the play “Cold Case,” focusing on a story involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, which is scheduled to make its stage debut Friday at Perseverance Theatre. (Akiko Nishijima Rotch / Perseverance Theatre)
Play revealing unseen struggles of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons debuts at Perseverance Theatre

“Cold Case” features story of rural Iñupiaq woman trying to recover aunt’s body from Anchorage.

James Montiver holds Cassie, and William Montiver holds Alani behind them, members of the Ketchikan Fire Department that helped rescue the dogs on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)
Dogs saved after seven days in Ketchikan landslide

Ketchikan Fire Department firefighters with heroic efforts Sunday brought joy and some… Continue reading

Most Read