A woman has died after a car accident in Ketchikan, Alaska. The 57-year-old woman from Auburn, Indiana was struck by the vehicle as it left a downtown parking lot.
Vehicle Plunges into Creek
Local media quoted city officials saying she was a cruise ship passenger.
Five ships visited the port on Thursday and it is unclear which cruise line she was traveling with.
She was walking on the sidewalk with her husband when she was struck by a car which mounted the curb and plunged into Ketchikan Creek.
Another Cruise Ship Passenger Helps in Rescue
The deceased woman also landed in the water, which was about five foot deep. The car also struck other pedestrians. In total, three people suffered injuries including the driver. One was another cruise ship passenger who entered the water to assist and received medical attention afterwards. The woman was pronounced dead at hospital.
Ketchikan police said the vehicle exited a parking lot and broke through a fence before plunging into the creek. The driver was in a critical condition. Ketchikan Fire Department’s swift-water rescue team arrived quickly and helped pull people from the water.
Fire Chief Rick Hines and Police Chief Eric Mattson held a press conference later in the day: “One of the bystanders cut his arm as he broke a window with a rock in an effort to remove the driver,” Mattson said. “The other bystander was a cruise ship passenger who jumped in the creek in an effort to also assist in removing the driver out of the vehicle.”
Hines said the driver regained consciousness on the way to hospital. “We got a pulse back and also the person started breathing on their own.”
Local shop worker Hamilton Gelhar said it happened during the busiest day in Ketchikan for cruise ship traffic. “We had 15,000 people docked on cruise ships,” he said.
The cause of the accident is being investigated and the damaged boardwalk will remain closed for repairs and safety checks.
