UPDATE 11 a.m. March 1:
Anchorage police on Friday identified the woman struck and killed by one or more vehicles Tuesday as she walked along the Seward Highway near Girdwood as Shannon Cox-Davis, 55.
An investigation was continuing, police said.
Original story:
A woman walking along the Seward Highway was struck by at least one vehicle and killed late Tuesday about a mile west of Girdwood, Anchorage police said.
The woman, who has not been identified, was struck by “one or more vehicles,” Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim said Wednesday. Police established that because of the woman’s injuries and also because dispatchers received calls from more than one driver about the collision.
The drivers involved stayed in the area to be interviewed by police, Thim said. He said there were “a few” of them.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident around 9:30 p.m. halted traffic in both directions for an investigation that lasted hours. The highway was reopened around 4:30 a.m., police said in an alert.
Police are hoping to talk to witnesses and to determine why the woman was walking along the highway, Thim said. There’s no indication she was hit intentionally.
Members of the Girdwood Fire Department also responded to the incident, returning to their station around midnight, according to an overnight Facebook post. The department thanked police and fire chaplains as well as the pastor of the Girdwood Chapel United Methodist Church for helping bystanders.
“Please do not hesitate to reach out for mental health resources if you need assistance tomorrow," the post said.