Alaska News

Parks Hwy. closed, injuries reported after 2 wrecks including bus-semi collision

Alaska State Troopers reported two wrecks on the Parks Highway on Monday afternoon, one involving a tour bus and a semi and the other a head-on collision.

The head-on crash was reported at around 3:05 p.m. near Cantwell. Troopers said one person was flown to the hospital with serious injuries. The highway was closed around Mile 225 while the medevac helicopter landed, said Megan Peters, troopers spokesperson.

Earlier, 56 miles to the south, several people called 911 about a tour bus and tractor-trailer collision near Mile 169 of the highway, about 5 miles south of Hurricane Gulch. A few people on the bus reported minor injuries, Peters said.

A photograph from the scene showed a tour bus with a damaged back end and a Lynden Transport truck with a crushed front. Phone calls to Princess and Lynden were not immediately returned.

Other photos from the scene showed traffic backup up in both directions on the Parks Highway.

The campaign for Dan Sullivan, a U.S. Senate candidate, sent an email blast Monday afternoon canceling two evening events. The campaign recreational vehicle -- carrying Sullivan, his family and campaign employees -- was one of the first vehicles at the scene of the crash, the email said.

Officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation were en route to the crash site around 4:30 p.m., responding to reports of a diesel spill, said Ty Keltner, DEC spokesperson.

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On Monday afternoon, the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center had been preparing for a "significant influx of patients" from the bus-truck accident, said spokesman Alan Craft.

Reporter Zaz Hollander contributed to this report.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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