Crime & Courts

Palmer man charged with manslaughter in fatal Palmer-Wasilla highway crash

Palmer resident Brandon Wolsterman, 23, was charged Thursday with manslaughter and assault, charges stemming from a head-on crash on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway that killed an Oregon woman in September.

Wolsterman also faces a misdemeanor DUI charge.

The felony indictment filed against Wolsterman on Thursday does not include detailed information about how the vehicle wreck may have occurred, or law enforcement's subsequent investigation.

The charging document says Wolsterman recklessly caused the death of Betty Erps, 78, who died of her injuries two days after the crash. The charges also say he injured Rex Erps by means of a dangerous instrument.

Troopers said they responded to the crash at the highway and Vroman Drive around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2016.

An initial investigation found Erps was driving her 2015 Ford Taurus eastbound on the highway when a 1990 Oldsmobile van, allegedly driven by Wolsterman, driving in the opposite direction crossed the road's centerline. The vehicles collided head on, troopers said.

[Oregon woman dies days after Valley head-on crash]

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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