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.


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