Crash hospitalizes motorcycle rider

WASILLA — A head-on crash on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway sent a motorcyclist to the hospital Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency responders said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Central Mat-Su Fire Chief James Steele said the call to respond to the highway in front of the bowling alley just west of Seward Meridian Parkway came in at around 1:45 p.m.

“I had actually just driven through there just less than three minutes before the call came in,” Steele said. He was first on scene. “A pickup and a motorcycle hit basically head-on.”

The motorcycle was pinned under the front bumper of the pickup. The motorcyclist had been thrown clear and was lying in the road 50 feet away.

Alaska State Trooper Spokeswoman Megan Peters said that the motorcycle was westbound and the pickup was turning left out of a parking lot opposite the bowling alley to head east.

“(The) truck was turning left and struck the motorcycle as it was passing a tractor trailer. The motorcycle and pickup driver didn’t see each other prior to the collision,” Peters wrote in an e-mail.

Steele said responders considered landing a helicopter to pick up the rider but opted instead to drive him to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. He said the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and he described the injuries as “moderate” but not life-threatening.

Peters backed up that assessment.

“Both vehicles were actively slowing down when they collided,” she said.

Traffic was slowed on the highway for about an hour as troopers and medics worked the scene.

“I think it’s probably clear now,” Steele said just before 3 p.m. When he left at around 2:10 p.m., “they were still waiting on a couple of the tow trucks to remove the motorcycle and the pickup.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.