For Soldotna drivers who noticed unusual traffic due to a road closure on Echo Lake Road on Tuesday morning, Alaska State Troopers have details about what caused the delays.
A little before 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Troopers responded to a single-vehicle rollover on Echo Lake road near Keith Court. Investigation determined that Mario Lama, age 31 of Soldotna, traveled west on Echo Lake Road in his 2002 Cadillac Escalade when he swerved to avoid hitting a moose. This caused the vehicle to go partially off the roadway.
When the vehicle re-entered the roadway, it went into a sidewise skid then rolled over. Lama was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected onto the surface of the roadway.
LifeMed responded and flew him to an Anchorage hospital. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash. However, the absence of a seatbelt contributed to the severity of the injury, according to Troopers.
