Update: A Providence Hospital spokesperson said that Amber Helmann, 32, was listed in critical condition around 5 p.m. Friday.
Original: The Old Glenn Highway has reopened Friday afternoon, after Alaska State Troopers responded to a two-vehicle collision that left a Palmer woman severely injured and closed the highway for several hours.
AST spokesperson Megan Peters said the crash occurred at 10:25 a.m. on the Old Glenn, about two miles south of the Knik River bridge. A 1993 Nissan Sentra sedan driven by 32-year-old Amber Helmann was headed south on the Old Glenn when she lost control on an S-curve, drifting into the oncoming lane in front of a 2012 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by 31-year-old Jesse Greene of Houston.
Peters says Greene maneuvered to avoid the collision and managed not to hit Helmann's car head-on, as initially reported by troopers based on a call from Greene reporting the crash, but struck the Sentra on the right rear quarter.
"It was still a pretty severe impact," Peters said.
Helmann was wearing her seat belt, but her car did not have air bags. She was entrapped in her vehicle until 10:55 a.m., when she was extracted and flown from the scene to Providence Alaska Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Hospital spokesperson Kirsten Schultz says Helmann was listed in serious condition Friday afternoon.
Peters says troopers didn't report any other occupants in either vehicle.
The Old Glenn remained closed while troopers investigated the crash, with vehicles being flagged through when work permitted, until about 3:30 p.m.
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