On Sunday, November 11th, at 1:29 pm, the Soldotna Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a vehicle off the embankment at mile 39 of the Seward Highway.

When troopers from Girdwood, the Bureau of Highway Patrol from Cooper Landing and Girdwood arrived at the scene along with Fire and EMS from Moose Pass and a LifeMed Helicopter, they found a 2004 Beige Ford F-150 off the road.

The initial investigation at the scene found that 78-year-old Charles Gillick of Soldotna had drifted off the road while southbound on the highway. When he did so, he hit an embankment.

A passenger in the vehicle, 76-year-old Mary Gillick was pronounced dead while enroute to the hospital. Charles Gillick was also transported to a local area hospital for serious life-threatening injuries.

The accident closed the highway for approximately one hour as the emergency response took place.

The vehicle suffered extensive front end damage.

The investigation into the accident is on-going.