Police describe rear-end collision that injured Peltola's family in Anchorage

Fairbanks and Bethel appearances move later as six Alaska events continue

Anchorage Police said a preliminary investigation found that the vehicle carrying Mary Peltola and her family was stopped at a traffic light when another vehicle traveling westbound on O’Malley Road approached the intersection and collided into the rear of Peltola’s vehicle, which was then pushed into a third vehicle also stopped at the light.

The incident occurred at 6:55 p.m. local time near the intersection of O’Malley Road and Lake Otis Parkway in the city, police said, and the department said it was investigating.

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 first vehicle “was also transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” and the occupant of the third vehicle “refused medical transport,” police said.

Peltola’s campaign said the vehicle “was struck by another driver, causing minor injuries that required medical attention.” Peltola, a former congresswoman and the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in a tight race with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, was traveling with her family to the Alaska Federation of Natives Annual Banquet in Anchorage when the crash occurred Saturday.

Her family “are in good spirits,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said. “Unfortunately, per the advice of medical professionals, Mary’s upcoming events in Fairbanks and Bethel [set for Sunday] will be rescheduled for later in the week as she takes time to recover,” she said.

Events already scheduled in the Alaska cities of Homer, Kenai, Seward, Juneau, Anchorage and Palmer would continue as scheduled, Bruce said. Peltola’s campaign said she had delayed the start of her upcoming “Alaska Always Tour” as she recovered.

Last week, Trump’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit preemptively calling on the courts to block certification of the election should Peltola win. The administration said the third-party candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan Jr. was meant to mislead voters into voting for the wrong Republican candidate, splitting the vote and giving Peltola an advantage.

United Press International reported that the Alaska contest between Peltola and Sullivan was shaping up to have major implications for party control in the upper chamber of Congress. If Democrats gain four seats in next week’s mid-term elections, they would take control of the Senate, weakening the GOP’s position in Congress and compromising the political power of President Donald Trump, UPI said.

In response, the nonprofit watchdog Common Cause filed a motion to intervene in the Justice Department’s suit on Saturday. “The Trump administration is trying to lay the groundwork to reject election results because they are desperate to control our elections,” Common Cause CEO Virginia Kase Solomon said in a statement.

“This administration is so scared of the will of the people, they’re not even waiting for Election Day to start asking courts to ignore election results,” she asserted. “This is an insult to the people of Alaska. Politicians don’t dictate election outcomes; the people do. Common Cause is intervening because Alaskans’ will have their voices heard.”