A collision in which one vehicle T-boned another Friday night on Dimond Boulevard just west of Arctic Boulevard killed three men and sent a family of four to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, according to Anchorage police.

Police today identifed the three men as James Breslin, 41, of Oklahoma, Jeffrey Gardinier, 49, of Colorado and Ronald Staggs, 45, of Montana. Staggs, the driver, owned the Mustang, said police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker.

"It was evident from witness statements that the black Mustang had been westbound on Dimond and was accelerating to a high rate of speed, apparently lost control, jumped the median, which is a small grass median, and slid sideways, actually T-boning itself on the front end of the white Chevrolet pickup," police Lt. Dave Parker said at the scene late Friday night.

The Mustang slammed into the pickup at a slight angle, virtually demolishing the car at the point of impact, which was the front passenger side. The driver and rear passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. The front-seat passenger was taken to a hospital, where he died about an hour later, police said.

"At least a third of the way into the Mustang is how far the truck went into the car. It impinged a long ways in," said police patrol Sgt. Lee Rohwer, who was also at the scene late Friday. "This is worst-case scenario right here. Small car full of people and a big truck hits it broadside."

A family of four was in the pickup: a mother, father and two children probably between 6 and 10 years old, Parker said. The front end of the pickup was smashed in, but the cab was pretty much intact.

Parker said today that the three men who were killed appeared to work together for a telecommunications company. "(Staggs) had been working on and off here for a couple years," he said.

Breslin and Gardinier are listed as part-owners of a Las Vegas-based company called TTU Telecommunications, according to Alaska public records.

The pavement at the site of the wreck late Friday night was wet from rain, but there was no rain falling at the time of the collision. Police said road conditions might have played a role, but that won't be known for certain until the investigation is complete.

The accident left shattered glass and torn metal across the eastbound lanes of travel on Dimond. The glistening street was bathed in floodlights from firetrucks as dozens of onlookers gathered in a strip mall parking lot, watching and snapping pictures with camera phones.

Dimond was fully closed between Arctic and Minnesota Boulevard after the crash. Police said the road would be closed for hours while they processed the scene.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

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