Citation issued for negligent driving in head on collision

BOB MARTINSON/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Alaska State Troopers and Central Mat-Su Fire crews responded Monday afternoon to a head-on crash of a compact car and a landscaping dump truck on Trunk Road. The 12:53 p.m. wreck closed the road for a short time.

Jon M. Lawton, 44, of Anchorage, was traveling south on Trunk Road in a 1988 Honda Accord when he drove around a corner and into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a 2002 Ford landscaping dump truck from Pisano's Dirt Works.

Skid marks at the scene indicated the Honda was in the oncoming lane. The truck, driven by Chris A. Moen, 49, of Palmer, was traveling north.

"I tried to swerve to avoid him," Moen said.

Moen's truck ended up across a ditch, with its rear end blocking the northbound lane, and the Honda blocked the southbound lane.

All occupants of both vehicles were wearing seat belts and all four occupants of the Honda were transported to Valley Hospital for injuries.

The Honda was totaled and the truck received minimal damage.

Lawton was issued a negligent driving citation. Rescue crews needed a Jaws of Life extraction device to free the passengers of the Honda, whose condition was unknown at press time.