Anchorage

Pedestrian struck, killed by vehicle in downtown Anchorage

A man fatally struck by a vehicle Saturday evening on Fifth Avenue in downtown Anchorage was killed after trying to cross the street while traffic had the right-of-way, according to Anchorage police.

Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in a Sunday statement that 65-year-old Ephrem William Joe Sr. -- one of three men crossing at the time -- died at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Concrete Street after the collision at about 6:30 p.m.

"While the men were in the crosswalk, they had a steady 'do not cross' hand signal and the traffic light was green for oncoming vehicles," Oistad wrote.

All three of the pedestrians were able to cross Fifth Avenue's westbound lanes. Two of the men stopped at the median, Oistad said, but Joe "continued across the eastbound lanes of 5th Avenue and directly into the path of a 2011 blue Toyota RAV4."

"The driver of the Toyota braked and swerved in an attempt to avoid Joe Sr. but still struck him," Oistad wrote.

Police said Saturday night that paramedics responded, but declared Joe dead at the scene.

The driver remained at the scene, Oistad said, and cooperated with police. No arrests or citations have been made in the collision.

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Oistad said Sunday that blood drawn from both Joe and the RAV4's driver is undergoing toxicology testing to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the collision.

But, Oistad said, Joe erred when he and the other pedestrians crossed against the signal.

"He was at fault," Oistad said. "They were in the crosswalk, but the traffic had the green light so he wasn't supposed to be there."

Eastbound traffic was entirely blocked off at East Fifth Avenue and Karluk Street for several hours, but was reopened around 9 p.m.

The loss of Joe was being felt Sunday at soup kitchen Bean's Cafe on nearby Third Avenue, where executive director Lisa Sauder said he had been both a client and a volunteer.

"He was well-known and loved at Bean's," Sauder said. "He was really an elder in our community there."

Sauder said Fifth and Concrete has a particularly hazardous reputation among regulars at Bean's, many of whom often use it to walk between the soup kitchen and nearby housing projects like Karluk Manor and the Safe Harbor Inn operated by RurAL CAP.

This is at least the third pedestrian death at Fifth Avenue and Concrete Street in the past year and a half. In September 2014, 54-year-old Guy Merculief was killed there in what APD described as a hit-and-run. One year later, 72-year-old Nathaniel Olemaun Jr. was killed at the same spot.

"It's been a particularly deadly intersection there," Sauder said. "It's just horrible; it's horrible for everyone involved -- the pedestrian, the driver -- and these are just tragic events."

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