Semi rear-ends tour bus near Cantwell

CANTWELL — A wreck along the Parks Highway Monday afternoon injured more than a dozen people, closed the highway for about three hours, and backed up traffic for miles in both directions, authorities said.

The incident began about 2:52 p.m. at Mile 169, Parks Highway when a northbound Lynden Transport semi-truck, driven by Jason Avila, 39 of Wasilla, rear-ended a Princess tour bus, driven by John Snyder, 21 of Trapper Creek, after the bus stopped at the railroad crossing there.

Alaska State Trooper Spokesperson Beth Ipsen said Avila was flown to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, and 12 to 14 passengers on board the bus also were transported via ground ambulance for treatment of minor injuries, she said.

The bus was carrying about 44 passengers from Mount McKinley Lodge to Denali National Park, Ipsen said.

Debris from the accident spilled onto the railroad tracks, causing at least one train to be delayed, authorities said. It was not immediately clear whether it was a passenger or freight train, according to Mat-Su Borough deputy director Clint Vardeman and emergency manager Casey Cook.

Reached by phone from the scene just after 6 p.m., Cook said the Mat-Su Borough sent five ambulances to the scene and a trailer filled with extra medical supplies outfitted for these kinds of mass-injury incidents.

The highway was closed in both directions to let helicopters land, one lane opening back up at around 6 p.m.

“They just now reopened, they’re letting traffic through one lane,” Cook said. “Traffic is still backed up a mile to 2 miles in either direction.”

The highway was closed for about three hours, troopers said.

The semi truck carried nine pallets of lithium ion batteries, and began leaking fuel and radiator fluid shortly after the collision, Cook said. The batteries were not breached in the crash, according to a trooper dispatch statement.

Department of Environmental Conservation responded from Fairbanks to address the 200 to 300 gallons of fuel spilled "onto the road, beside the road, and in to a creek running next to the road," troopers wrote.

The collision site’s relative remoteness — about 50 miles from the nearest responding agency at Mile 113 in Trapper Creek — led to response delays, Cook said.

Cook said the tour bus company sent a replacement bus while responders worked at the scene.

Responders from numerous borough departments, including West Lakes, Trapper Creek, Talkeetna and Willow were on scene. Responders included two helicopters and three ambulances, in addition to other vehicles, Cook said.

With candidates on roads across the state making the final push for Tuesday’s primary election, it was perhaps inevitable that at least one would be swept up in local drama.

U.S. Senate Candidate Dan Sullivan and campaign staffer Otto Feather — a former deputy director of the borough’s Department of Emergency Services — were the first responders to the scene.

Sullivan and Feather were involved in treating the wounded, and that led to the cancellation of a planned Wasilla rally, said Mat-Su Valley Field Director Richard Heller. Food originally set aside for the rally would be set aside for charity, Heller said.

“He (Sullivan) is supposed to be here right now,” he said. “We ended up feeding a bunch of homeless kids, so some good came of it.”

Frontiersman reporter Andrew Wellner contributed to this report. Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.