Alaska State Troopers say slushy pavement was involved in two Seward Highway crashes, including a Saturday two-vehicle collision and a Sunday semi truck rollover, which both caused injuries and closed the highway. In Monday AST dispatches, troopers say the first of the crashes they responded to -- a collision at Mile 91 of the highway, at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday -- involved a pair of sport-utility vehicles. Nineteen-year-old Sierra Headley of Girdwood was headed north, while 29-year-old Anchorage woman Mae Canal was driving south. “Headley's vehicle lost traction on slush-covered pavement,” troopers wrote. “Headley was unable to maintain control of her vehicle as her vehicle entered the southbound lane. Canal's vehicle struck Headley's vehicle.” Although everyone in both SUVs was wearing seat belts, both drivers and a passenger from Canal’s vehicle were taken to an Anchorage hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The second crash drew responders to Mile 67.7 of the highway shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday. Eagle River man Robert Sinnett, 44, was at the wheel of the truck involved in the single-vehicle wreck. “(Sinnett) was operating a 24-foot box truck traveling southbound. The vehicle lost traction on the slush-covered pavement,” troopers wrote. “The vehicle struck the northbound side guard rail and overturned. The vehicle came to rest on its left side in the northbound traffic lane.” Sinnett refused treatment for minor injuries sustained in the crash, but the truck was disabled and had to be towed. AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen says that the highway was closed for about an hour Saturday and three hours Sunday, with intermittent one-lane travel northbound and southbound possible before the highway fully reopened each time. She says that while slushy pavement may have been a common factor to the closure crashes, it’s also common to the highway in spring. “It sounds like it was normal winter driving conditions,” Ipsen said. The weekend’s worst weather along the highway came Saturday night in the Turnagain Pass area, where several vehicles ended up in the ditch after encountering whiteout conditions. A tow truck sent to the area had hydraulic issues, further complicating responses to calls. Ipsen says part of the problem was the wildly disparate conditions on either side of the pass, a natural weather break. “When you get over that pass, it can be a totally different world over there,” Ipsen said.
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