An individual is still at large after fleeing the scene of a three-vehicle collision which sent one person to the hospital and resulted in the closure of Bridge Access Rd. for more than an hour on Thanksgiving.
KPD received multiple 911 calls just after 6:20 PM on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, in regard to a three-vehicle collision on Bridge Access Rd. At the time, witnesses reported that a minivan travelling northbound on Warren Ames Bridge crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with two different southbound vehicles.
The driver of the minivan was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
During the investigation, KPD determined that the driver of another vehicle which was struck in the collision walked away from the scene prior to police arrival. Authorities are still attempting to locate that individual.
According to Kenai Police Chief, Dave Ross, KPD is aware of the individual’s identity, but is not releasing that information at this time. “Officers are attempting to locate that individual. I’m not ready to release the name till they’ve completed their investigation,” said Chief Ross in a phone call to KSRM.
According to Ross, the person who fled the scene of the accident was driving one of the vehicles struck and was not at fault for the accident, which makes their decision to walk away prior to the arrival of law enforcement suspicious. “There’s a lot of reasons why people walk away, whether they shouldn’t be driving at all, for alcohol or shouldn’t be driving [because] they’re not licensed, or they have warrants for their arrest. There’s a number of reasons why typically people don’t want to stay.”
Other than the driver of the minivan, no other injuries were reported as a result of the accident.
While police investigated the accident, Bridge Access Rd. was closed for over an hour.
An investigation into the three-vehicle collision is ongoing.