The driver of a small sedan died after the car collided with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer in Fairbanks Monday morning, according to the Alaska State Troopers. Hazardous cargo being carried by the truck did not spill onto the road.
Shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, troopers started getting reports about the wreck. An investigation found that 56-year-old Benny Easters of Hawaii was driving the semi, turning left from Airport Way onto University Avenue, troopers said.
The truck was then "T-boned" by a Saturn SL, driven by 20-year-old Cody Odomin of Fairbanks, heading west on Airport Way, troopers said.
Odomin was declared dead at the scene of the crash.
Troopers said that Odomin was allegedly speeding well over the posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour.
"Alcohol is also suspected as a factor in the crash," they wrote in an online dispatch.
Easters and his passenger did not suffer any injuries; both were wearing their seatbelts, troopers said.
The intersection closed due to the crash but reopened in the afternoon.
Personnel with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Fairbanks North Star Borough HazMat team responded to the wreck, troopers said. Fuel from the truck spilled onto the roadway, but the hazardous material it was carrying as cargo was reportedly not damaged or spilled.