A 25-year-old Palmer woman died Thursday after she drove off the Glenn Highway and onto a conveyor belt operated by a sand and gravel company, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers are investigating whether a boulder in the road contributed to the accident, spokeswoman Megan Peters said Friday morning. The rock measured six to eight inches, Peters said.
The accident occurred just before 8 a.m. Thursday at Mile 39 of the highway south of Palmer, troopers said in a dispatch posted Friday.
Hailey Belnap was driving south in her 2015 Honda when the car left the west side of the roadway, struck an embankment and came to rest on the Alaska Sand & Gravel conveyor belt, troopers say. A small boulder was in the roadway.
Belnap was taken by ambulance to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead just before 9:30 a.m.
The state's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division is assisting with the investigation. Asked if a commercial vehicle was involved, Peters said that was also under investigation.
The division gets involved any time a commercial vehicle is in the vicinity of an accident, a state transportation department spokeswoman said.
This is a developing story. Check for updates.