A four-vehicle collision at Fifth Avenue and Airport Heights Drive has forced the closure of some lanes in the area this afternoon and left several people with injuries, according to Anchorage police.
The accident took place about 10 a.m. when Earl Stidham, 78, was driving west on Fifth/Glenn Highway at about 65 mph when he tried to slow down for traffic stopped at Airport Heights, said police spokeswoman Anita Shell.
The accelerator on Stidham's Ford Expedition apparently became stuck. The SUV rammed the rear of a Chevy Malibu driven by Conor Daugharty, 22, she said. Then it spun northbound on Mountain View Drive and sideswiped a Ford F250 pickup driven by Tommy Oswald, 50.
Stidham's SUV went another 100 feet north and struck a Pontiac Grand Am driven by Hung Ha, 36, before stopping.
Stidham and his passenger, Franklin Simmons, 76, were uninjured. The SUV is owned by Daugharty had to be extricated from his vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital and is listed in critical condition. His car was totaled, Shell said.
Oswald sustained a sprained ankle; his passenger wasn't hurt. The pickup truck could be driven away, Shell said.
Ha's nose was broken, she said.
Southbound lanes of Mountain View Drive north of Fifth Avenue will be closed this afternoon while the police investigate the accident, she said.
The accident took place about 10 a.m. when Earl Stidham, 78, was driving west on Fifth/Glenn Highway at about 65 mph when he tried to slow down for traffic stopped at Airport Heights, said police spokeswoman Anita Shell.
The accelerator on Stidham's Ford Expedition apparently became stuck. The SUV rammed the rear of a Chevy Malibu driven by Conor Daugharty, 22, she said. Then it spun northbound on Mountain View Drive and sideswiped a Ford F250 pickup driven by Tommy Oswald, 50.
Stidham's SUV went another 100 feet north and struck a Pontiac Grand Am driven by Hung Ha, 36, before stopping.
Stidham and his passenger, Franklin Simmons, 76, were uninjured. The SUV is owned by Daugharty had to be extricated from his vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital and is listed in critical condition. His car was totaled, Shell said.
Oswald sustained a sprained ankle; his passenger wasn't hurt. The pickup truck could be driven away, Shell said.
Ha's nose was broken, she said.
Southbound lanes of Mountain View Drive north of Fifth Avenue will be closed this afternoon while the police investigate the accident, she said.