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A semi traveling the Seward Highway late Tuesday left the road and ended up in the waters of Turnagain Arm near Portage.
Girdwood Fire and Rescue crews arriving on scene found the driver still in the cab and, using a rescue throwbag, pulled him from the truck and to shore, according to an update Wednesday. The Girdwood crew described poor driving visibility in the area, with wind and horizontal rain.
The truck went off the road in an area where the guardrail had been removed due to an ongoing highway construction project, according to the update.
The truck’s driver suffered injuries described as not life-threatening and was transported to a hospital, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
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Officers responded to a report of a semi in the water near Mile 82 of the highway at about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday, police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said. The area is near the Twentymile River. No other vehicles were involved, Oistad said.
Drivers reported delays on the highway in the aftermath of the incident.
The truck was hauling one trailer southbound on the highway when the “driver lost control and veered offroad into the Inlet,” Oistad said in an email. No hazardous materials were reported in the trailer, she said.
No charges or citations have been filed in the incident.
Vulcan Towing, members of Girdwood Fire and Rescue and other towing companies went back out to recover the truck from the water at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Girdwood Fire and Rescue Chief Michelle Weston. The highway was closed just before 5:30 p.m. while crews worked to extract the vehicle, according to an update Wednesday evening.
Weston commended the driver for his reaction, saying “he did an amazing job keeping the wheels up — keeping the wheels on the ground.”
“It could have gone a totally different way,” she said.
Though cars have ended up in Turnagain Arm in the past, Weston said that in all her time with Girdwood Fire and Rescue, she cannot recall another time that a semi has gone into the water.