Freezing rain in the Interior caused a pileup on the Parks Highway on Friday night, which led to a seven-hour road closure. Although conditions are expected to improve Saturday afternoon, forecasters say more freezing rain could fall Saturday night.
On Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a special weather statement warning of freezing rain and snow until 12 p.m. Saturday for Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base, Ester, North Pole, Moose Creek, Two Rivers, Fox, Chatanika and Chena Hot Springs.
The NWS warned that the conditions could create black ice on the roads. Sure enough, around 10:30 p.m. Friday, troopers in Fairbanks received a report of a multi-vehicle crash caused by black ice on the Parks Highway. The crash sent five people to the hospital with serious injuries and closed a portion of the highway for seven hours, Alaska State Troopers wrote in an online dispatch.
The incident began when a semi-truck driver tried to stop for a disabled vehicle blocking the northbound lanes of the highway near Healy. The driver was able to stop the truck before hitting the disabled vehicle, but the abrupt stop on the icy road caused his double trailers to become "jackknifed" on the highway and block both lanes, troopers said.
Shortly after the semi-truck blocked the road, troopers said, a car driven by 22-year-old Stevie Lander of Anchorage was unable to stop. The car hit the back of the trailer and became wedged between the trailer and the guard rail. Lander and three passengers -- Cadman Peterson, 28, Moriah Walker, 21, and Phillip Payton, 17 -- were able to get out safely, troopers said.
Troopers estimated about one minute later a fourth vehicle became part of the pileup. A car driven by 83-year-old Lonnie Parrish of Anchorage hit the back of the trailer. The passenger, 69-year-old Sandra Parrish, had to be extricated by Tri-Valley EMS.
Troopers said the Parrishes, Lander, Peterson and Walker were all taken by helicopter or ambulance to a hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Late Saturday morning, NWS meteorological technician Craig Eckert in Fairbanks said that conditions were expected to improve Saturday afternoon with temperatures expected to reach the mid-40s. However, the area could experience more freezing rain overnight, the NWS wrote in a forecast.