Unrelated collisions Monday leave 2 dead

One was a resident of Clam Gulch, the other of Wisconsin.

Alaska State Troopers logo.

Alaska State Troopers logo.

In unrelated Sterling Highway car collisions Monday, two people were killed, one a resident of Clam Gulch, the other of Wisconsin.

At around 1:30 p.m., according to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers, they were told of a collision at around Mile 100 of the Sterling Highway, close to Echo Lake Road. They found that Clam Gulch resident Joseph Alcantra, 65, had swerved off the road in a Dodge sedan and collided with trees.

The dispatch says Alcantra experienced a medical emergency while operating the vehicle, and was declared dead at the scene despite “life-saving efforts performed by good Samaritans, troopers and EMS.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Per a second dispatch, troopers responded to another collision roughly an hour later, at 3 p.m. That collision was near Milepost 71.5, close to Peterson and Kelly Lake Campgrounds. According to posts on the troopers’ Facebook page, the road was closed in both directions for more than four hours while troopers investigated and cleared the roadway.

The dispatch says Theodore Matthew Zielicke, 57, of Wisconsin, was driving toward Soldotna in a red 1998 Ford Explorer when he crossed over the centerline and collided with a white 2022 Toyota Corolla operated by Keith Sydney Cooke, 66, of North Carolina.

“Multiple people, including both drivers, suffered serious injury,” the dispatch says.

One of the passengers in Zielicke’s car, Wanda Yvonne Cook, 59, also of Wisconsin, was pronounced dead on scene.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

President Donald Trump argues with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in the Oval Office on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. For decades or longer, no American president has engaged in such an angry, scathing attack on a visiting foreign leader. And what really seemed to get under Trump’s skin were Zelenskyy’s harsh words about President Vladimir Putin of Russia. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Murkowski ‘sick to my stomach’ about Trump’s berating of Ukraine’s Zelensky in Oval Office

Senator says talk of president ending support for Ukraine, abandoning other allies “a threat to democracy.”

Mi’shell French, director of rural housing for the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, speaks at a celebration of more than 100 homes constructed by RurAL CAP’s Mutual Self-Help Housing Program near Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
RurAL CAP marks over 100 homes constructed by mutual self-help program

The program is a response to Alaska’s housing crisis.

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
7 candidates in running for HEA board

Members can cast ballots starting March 28.

Member Jordan Chilson speaks in support of an ordinance that would establish a residential property tax exemption during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna joins call for increased school funding

The city is calling for an increase to the BSA and ongoing inflation proofing of that amount.

Kimberly Powell, coach of the Soldotna High School soccer team, speaks during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Girls soccer, Homeless Connect receive Soldotna mini grants

Both received $1,000 to assist with operating expenses.

Biologist Heather Renner presents the results of her recently published study on the 2014-2016 common murre mass die-off on Feb. 18, 2025, at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in Homer, Alaska. Renner’s research showed that the actual number of dead murre was closer to 4 million birds, compared to earlier estimates of only 500,000 to 1 million. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Biologist reports on mass murre die-off

A mass marine heat wave known simply as “the Blob” decimated their food system from multiple angles.

Cy Garcia, a student at Soldotna High School, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly calls on state to boost school funding

The move was made as the school district faces a $17 million budget deficit.

Board President Zen Kelly speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD to tackle budget, school closures at Monday meeting in Homer

The district is facing a $17 million deficit.

Heidi Sorrell, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, speaks during a chamber luncheon at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sorrell named new director of Soldotna Chamber

Sorrell was introduced by Chamber Board President Chuck Winters during a Wednesday luncheon.

Most Read