Turnagain Arm/Gwen Fagerman Truax photo
The woman killed by a semi-truck along the Seward Highway Tuesday evening was a former Minnesotan and lover of Alaska who took great joy in posting photos of her adopted state on Facebook.
“The light and the mist look kinda cool tonight,” 62-year-old Gwen Fagerman Truax wrote next to two Turnagain Arm photos and a video posted at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Within 15 minutes, she was dead, according to the Anchorage Police Department, which reported that “just before 10:30 p.m. Anchorage police dispatch were contacted by a semi-truck driver stating they believed they had struck a pedestrian on the Seward Highway by the scales near Potter Marsh.”
The “scales” refer to a state weight station along the highway near the Chugach State Park headquarters. The photos on Truax’s Facebook page were taken in that area.
“Literally minutes after these photos … she was always out there. I don’t understand,” a friend posted later.
Police say they are continuing to investigate.
“A preliminary investigation at the scene found that the semi had struck the pedestrian, however, the events leading up to the collision remain under investigation,” a press release said.
Truax (a Facebook friend of this writer) enjoyed taking photos along the Arm. She posted this one Friday evening with the comment “I like it here”:
The water and beaches along one of the state’s busiest highways were, she confessed, one of her favorite escapes.
“I know I come out here a bunch and post this same scene,” she wrote on May 17, “but between bursts of traffic you can her a beautiful birdsong, too. Great place to unwind and say a few ohms and prayers.”
RIP Gwen Fagerman Truax.