Four people died late Monday or early Tuesday near Petersburg when a speeding vehicle left the Mitkof Highway and crashed into trees, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers identified the dead as Ian Martin, 29, of Petersburg; Siguard Decker, 21, of Wrangell; Helen Decker, 19, of Wrangell; and Dennis Lord, 37, of New York.
The vehicle was an SUV and had been southbound when the crash occurred, the Petersburg Pilot reported.
The four had left Petersburg on Monday, headed for the Blind Slough area south of the Southeast Alaska city. A caller Tuesday morning asked troopers to conduct a welfare check on them.
While troopers were responding, they received word of a crash. Alaska Wildlife Troopers were first on the scene and confirmed all four people were dead.
“Initial investigation shows the vehicle left the roadway at a high rate of speed and impacted multiple trees, which severely damaged the vehicle,” troopers said in an online alert.
Troopers said the occupants had been wearing seatbelts, and the vehicle’s airbags deployed.