Tour bus crash kills 1, injures 1

TRAPPER CREEK — One passenger died, and the driver and another passenger were injured in a rollover wreck near Mile 173, Parks Highway Friday morning, authorities said.

Alaska State Troopers identified the driver as Brian Lanning, 25, of Trapper Creek Friday afternoon. Lanning’s injuries weren’t expected to be life threatening, according to Alaska State Trooper reports.

Identities for the two passengers — one dead, one seriously injured — were being withheld pending notification of their next of kin. Neither seriously injured person was a U.S. citizen, so informing their next of kin was expected to take some time, according to trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Emergency Services Director Dennis Brodigan said the initial report came in around 8 a.m., Sept. 5 about a 55-passenger bus that went off the road. Two people were reported entrapped during the crash and rescue units from Houston, Trapper Creek, Talkeetna, Caswell were dispatched to the scene, along with ambulances from Central Mat-Su, West Lakes and Talkeetna, Brodigan said.

He said there was no ice on the road, but the surface was wet.

Only three people were onboard the Princess Tours bus at the time of the crash, Peters said.

She said the driver initially reported the two other occupants as “significantly injured.” Later, first responders at the scene declared one passenger dead, Peters said.

The Parks Highway remained open, though traffic along that section of the highway was closed periodically while troopers investigated and emergency personnel assisted the injured, she said.

The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement was dispatched from the Palmer area to assist with the investigation, Peters said.

The bus was owned and operated by Princess Cruise Lines. This marks the second serious incident involving a Princess-owned bus on a remote stretch of road in a month. An Aug. 18 collision injured 12 people, the majority not seriously, after a collision at a railroad crossing about four miles away, though that’s likely just coincidence, Peters said.

“It’s not necessarily uncommon to see them (tour buses) involved in something,” she said. “It’s like when you see motorcycles on the road. All of a sudden you see motorcycles involved with accidents.”