Alaska State Troopers received a report that 43 year old Dennis Straughn of Kenai flagged down a vehicle near mile 105 of the Seward Highway this morning stating he had been in a plane crash.
In a search for the downed plane troopers discovered a pick up truck had driven off of an embankment at mile 99 of the Seward Highway and trapped two passengers inside.
AST Spokeswoman Megan Peters explained more.
Peters: “We got this call about the man being located at mile 105 just before 4:00 am this morning. About 40 minutes earlier we got a phone call from somebody and essentially they said that they know their friend was driving from Anchorage down to the Kenai Peninsula and they got a phone call from their friend and they just heard screaming or something but it was really vague and they didn’t know where their friend was.”
Troopers say Straughn did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol but was severely disoriented due to the accident.
Peters: “You can’t really knock on the guy because he was in a car wreck and it was dark outside and cold outside and it looks like he ended up walking quite a distance before he was located but of course getting a report that there was a plane crash sort of complicated things too because we’re looking for a plane and the truck turned out to be down a ravine in a wooded area and it was difficult to see from the road.”
The driver of the vehicle identified as 56 year old Harley Davidson of Anchorage appeared to have fallen asleep while driving causing the vehicle to leave the roadway.
No severe injuries were reported, drugs and alcohol were not a factor in this accident.