Car wreck involving Peltola under investigation

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Oct. 25, 2026 – Democratic US Senate candidate Mary Peltola and members of her family were taken to a hospital Saturday evening after a three-vehicle collision in South Anchorage, prompting her campaign to postpone campaign stops in Fairbanks and Bethel.

Anchorage police said officers responded at approximately 6:55 pm Oct. 24 to the intersection of O’Malley Road and Lake Otis Parkway. A preliminary investigation found that a vehicle traveling west on O’Malley struck the rear of a second vehicle carrying Peltola. The impact pushed that vehicle into a third. Both the second and third vehicles had been stopped at the traffic light, police said.

The occupants of Peltola’s vehicle were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle that struck them was also transported with non-life-threatening injuries. The occupant of the third vehicle declined medical transport, according to police.

Peltola and her family were headed to the Alaska Federation of Natives Annual Banquet when the collision occurred, her campaign said.

“Mary and her family sustained minor injuries but are in good spirits,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement.

Her campaign said appearances in Fairbanks on Sunday and Bethel on Monday would be rescheduled for later in the week.

Peltola is expected to resume campaigning Tuesday in Homer. Other tour stops remain scheduled, according to the campaign. The former Alaska congresswoman is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Police said the circumstances of the collision remain under investigation. The department’s initial statement did not announce any citations or identify contributing factors. The case number is 26-27979.