Anchor Point man seriously injured in pedestrian-vehicle collision

An Anchor Point man suffered serious injuries when a van struck him near Mile 163 Sterling Highway last Friday night. Logan Lucas, 25, was medevaced to an Anchorage hospital.

According to an Alaska State Troopers online dispatch, at about 7:50 p.m. Dec. 6, troopers got a “report every dangerous driver immediately” complaint about a driver in a green Jeep on the Sterling Highway north of the intersection with the south end of the North Fork Road. Troopers found the Jeep in a ditch but did not find Lucas in the car.

As they investigated, troopers said Lucas walked into the path of a southbound vehicle and was struck. Anchor Point Emergency Medical Services volunteers responded and took Lucas to South Peninsula Hospital and he then was flown to Anchorage.

About six vehicles stopped at the scene, said Wayne Flint, one of the first responders and a retired Seattle firefighter and medic. Flint said he had been driving north after seeing a movie in Homer when he saw a driver in a van parked on the side of the road. Flint said he stopped to help and found out the van had hit Lucas. People in stopped cars began a search for Lucas.

“We were looking in the ditches toward the mile-marker post,” Flint said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Sadie Miller, a cab driver with Kostas Taxi, helped in the search and found Lucas. Flint said Lucas was facing downhill when they found him and he wasn’t breathing. Flint said he did a jaw thrust, an emergency procedure to lift the lower jaw up to help a victim breathe. Flint’s wife Jeanette assisted, as did Miller.

In a phone interview on Wednesday, Miller said Lucas wore dark clothing. She said she was only able to find him because his dark clothing contrasted with the snow as he laid on the ground. Miller said she helped hold Lucas’ jaw open until medics arrived.

“Sadie, (I) can’t say enough,” Flint said. “She stayed right there.”

Flint said he was touched by the willingness of people passing by to help find Lucas and keep him stable until EMS arrived.

“The willing spirit they showed that night — that’s what impressed me,” Flint said.

“I have never experienced the community so willing to employ ‘the Golden Rule’ and help search for the victim as I experienced — so we could employ ‘the Golden Hour’ for a severe trauma victim,” Flint wrote in an email.

Troopers said the driver of the vehicle that hit Lucas was cooperative. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.

Tags: