A 26-year-old Fairbanks woman was killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash near North Pole Saturday morning, and authorities have arrested the driver of the car, who is suspected of drunken driving.
Alaska State Troopers received a report of the crash near Mile 352 of the Richardson Highway about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday. The crash closed the northbound lane of the Richardson Highway for about five hours, said Beth Ipsen, troopers spokeswoman.
An investigation found that a Chevrolet pickup was traveling "at a high rate of speed" southbound on the highway when the driver lost control and entered the center median, troopers wrote in a Saturday dispatch.
The pickup rolled over multiple times in the center median before coming to rest in the northbound lane of the highway, troopers said.
The only passenger, Amber Rae Evans, was thrown from the truck. She was pronounced dead at the scene, Ipsen wrote in an email. Troopers said Evans did not appear to be wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the pickup, identified as 26-year-old Kieran Duffy of Fairbanks, was treated and released from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Troopers investigating the crash found that Duffy "showed multiple signs" of being under the influence of alcohol, according to the dispatch.
Ipsen said Duffy has been arrested on suspicion of one count of negligent homicide in connection with the incident.