Car tumbles into ravine

Hatcher Pass -- A vehicle carrying one adult and three young boys went off of Hatcher Pass road near mile 17 Thursday, and rolled down a steep slope into a ravine. Witnesses said the vehicle came to a rest upside down in a small stream, one of the headwater tributaries of Fishhook Creek.

The driver , Deborah Hurd, was taken by helicopter to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, where she was listed in fair condition, treated and released the same day. Two of the boys were taken by ambulance to Valley Hospital in Palmer and treated for minor injuries. It was the second time in five days that a car slid off the road in that area.

The 911 call center in Palmer received a call from one of the boys at approximately 12:24 p.m., according to dispatchers. The Alaska State Troopers, rangers from the state parks division, the Mat-Su Borough's Palmer ambulance, and the borough dive rescue team all responded to the scene. Hurd and two 11-year-old boys were trapped in the car when rescue workers arrived. Palmer Ambulance Chief Ulla Stice said emergency workers were on the scene in about 24 minutes.

"[The vehicle] was on its roof. There was still ample breathing space within the passenger compartment," Stice said.

The decision to call for a helicopter to transport Hurd was made because a combination of symptoms put the accident victim at risk, according to Stice.

"[Hurd had] a severe laceration to the head and a possible leg injury. Because of the exposure time and the blood loss we decided it would be best to take the helicopter," Stice said.

At the bottom of the ravine is a small stream, one of the headwater tributaries of Fishhook Creek. Hurd's vehicle went off the road at the crest of the ravine, near a right angle turn in the road. One of the boys climbed out of the ravine and was taken by passers-by to a 911 emergency phone near Hatcher Pass Lodge, about one mile up the road.

"That phone up there has been a blessing in the last few days. This is the second roll-over we've had. They were just about 50 feet apart -- it's a bad part of the road," Stice said. "When you come towards that curve, the road just looks all one color -- I think that was it. It's hard to determine where the road is and where it ends. It's just all white."

Hatcher Pass Lodge owner Hap Wurlitzer said Friday that this year's scant snowfall has made for a slippery road, but little plowing and no snow berms. During winters deeper snow berms line the road and act as guard rails and visual aids for drivers.

"Since 1963, I can only remember about four times that people have gone over that cliff, if you can believe that," Wurlitzer said, adding that one vehicle went off the road in thick fog during the summer season.

"The sander was up here last night, interesting enough. But I think that the problem down there is due to lack of snow. There is no berm there. I think that anybody could have drove off of it," Wurlitzer said. Road maintenance crews visited the area Thursday night, according to Wurlitzer. He also said he's been told that guard rails will be installed along the upper road during next year's construction season.

"What they've got there now is a couple of little barricades," Wurlitzer said. "… All of the sudden there have been two incidents in a row so it's getting a lot of attention."

Wurlitzer suspects people are driving faster in the area after recent improvements to Hatcher Pass Road. Wurlitzer was not an eye witness to either one of the accidents, but, he said, people -- himself included -- have been driving faster, especially on the lower road below the Motherlode Lodge.

"They might be just driving a lot faster. The road is just a lot nicer," he said.