Dec. 24, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman MAT-SU - The Palmer-Wasilla Highway is a 9.75-mile strip of asphalt for strangers to meet - and then exchange insurance information.

After four days of snow, here is the tally from Alaska State Troopers, who were kept fairly busy cleaning up the aftermath of crashes, according to their reports.

In three and a half hours Tuesday afternoon, troopers responded to three crashes involving six vehicles.

About 2 p.m., troopers responded to a crash near the Hyer Road intersection. Dave Eller, 18, of Palmer was turning left onto the highway from Hyer Road in a 1998 Dodge pickup. Corinna Schachle, 39, of Wasilla, was heading west in a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban when she struck Eller's truck. Troopers issued no citations, and reported all occupants wore seat belts and had no injures. The SUV and the truck each received about $2,000 damage, the report said.

At 3:19, Ashley Semler, 18, of Wasilla, was heading west near the Trunk Road intersection in a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. Semler rear-ended a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Judy Casey, 54, of Palmer. Troopers cited Semler for failure to exercise due care to avoid a collision, and estimated damages at $3,500 to the Malibu and $500 to the Impala. Everyone wore seat belts, and there were no injuries, the report said.

The crash near Vroman Drive just before 4:30 p.m. was also a rear-end collision. David Christenson, 28, of Wasilla was stopped for traffic in a 2002 Honda Acura. Amber Mitchell, 18, of Palmer, was heading west in a 1989 Subaru and hit the white Acura, the report said. Troopers estimated the damage to each car at more than $2,500 and cited Mitchell for failure to exercise care to avoid a collision. Both drivers wore seat belts and there were no injuries, the report said.

On Wednesday, about 9:30 a.m., it must have seemed like bumper cars at the fair when five vehicles took turns hitting each other.

Deborah Jennings, 42, of Palmer, was driving a 1990 maroon Chevrolet Astro van west on the highway when she lost control and headed into eastbound traffic, the report said. Jennings' van hit a 2006 white Ford pickup truck, driven by Talphus English, 68, of Willow, the report said, and Jennings then struck a white Chevrolet Blazer head-on. The Blazer was driven by Katherine Stanberry, 48, of Wasilla.

As Jennings' van came to rest in the middle of the road, it was hit by a Laidlaw school bus, driven by Rebecca Johnston, 49, of Palmer. No students were on the bus at the time of the crash, the report said. After he was hit by Jennings' van, English lost control of his pickup and hit a westbound green Chevrolet pickup driven by Bruce Hesselbach, 59, of Wasilla, before coming to a stop in the ditch, the report said. All drivers were wearing seat belts, Jennings and Stanberry were transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for minor injuries, and the other three drivers weren't injured, the report said.

Troopers issued Jennings citations for not exercising due care to avoid a collision and no proof of insurance. Jennings' and Stanberry's vehicles were totaled, the Laidlaw bus had minor damage, and damages to the green pickup and the white pickup were estimated at more than $2,500 each, the report said.

About 3:15 p.m. that afternoon, Donda L. Kreatschman, 43, of Palmer, was heading east in a 2003 Dodge van and stopped for traffic near Equestrian Place. Caleb S. Kreatschman, 16, of Palmer, was driving a 1998 Ford van, and rear-ended the Dodge. Troopers reported everyone wore seat belts, there were no injuries and damages to each van were about $5,000.

On Thursday, the shortest day of the year, at about 3:15 p.m., troopers investigated a two-car crash at the Seward-Meridian Parkway and the highway. As Gayla Burns, 51, of Palmer, was heading south on Seward-Meridian in a 1992 GMC pickup truck, J. W. Zedlite, 75, of Talkeetna turned in front of her. Zedlite turned his 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck south onto the parkway from the highway without yielding, the report said. Both drivers wore seat belts and were not injured, the report said.

Shortly after 7 p.m., a crash on the highway at Acorn Road sent four young people to the hospital. Shaune Hayward, 20, of Wasilla was driving east on the highway in a 2002 Ford pickup and lost control, the report said. Hayward collided with a westbound 1991 Ford pickup driven by James Bradley Nichols, 17, of Wasilla. Both trucks were totaled, the report said. Hayward, Nichols and Nichols' passengers, Glen Edward Hamilton, 17 and Travis Kenneth Lindsey, 16, both of Wasilla, were taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for injuries, the report said, although seat belts reportedly were used. Troopers cited Hayward for basic speed, and Nichols was cited for not having proof on insurance.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.