1 dead in collision on Minnesota Drive after vehicle towing heavy equipment strikes bridge

A piece of heavy machinery that was being transported along Minnesota Drive in Anchorage on Tuesday struck and damaged an overpass as the vehicle towing it passed underneath, Anchorage police said. A driver in a separate vehicle struck a piece of the equipment and died, according to police.

The northbound lanes of Minnesota were closed from West 15th Avenue to Northern Lights Boulevard for several hours on Tuesday afternoon, as was the Hillcrest Drive overpass. Both roads had reopened by 7 p.m., police said.

Anchorage police officers responded to the accident just after noon Tuesday on northbound Minnesota Drive at the Hillcrest overpass, police said in a community alert. According to police, a commercial vehicle was transporting heavy machinery when the equipment being towed struck the overpass.

“An SUV that was also traveling northbound on Minnesota struck part of the equipment which was dislodged from the commercial vehicle,” police said.

The man driving the SUV was declared dead at the scene, police said. The heavily damaged SUV was visible on the road just north of the overpass Tuesday afternoon, along with the piece of heavy machinery.

Justin Shelby, an administrative operations manager with the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the department sent workers to inspect the overpass, and that the bridge was damaged in the collision.

The driver and a passenger in the commercial vehicle that was towing the equipment were not injured, police said.

The commercial vehicle’s driver remained on the scene of the accident, police said, and is cooperating with the investigation. Police said no charges have been filed at this time.

Anchorage police did not identify the man who died and said his identity would be released once his next of kin had been notified.