Two perish in Parks crash

Oct. 2, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The names of two drivers who died Friday in a fiery, two-car, head-on collision at Mile 61.7 Parks Hwy. won't be released until dental records confirm their identities, an Alaska State Trooper spokesman said Saturday.

The two bodies were turned over to the state medical examiner's office in Anchorage, but the process of trying to match dental records probably won't begin before Monday morning, trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said.

"We will go with the presumption that they are, or are related to, the registered owners of the vehicles," he said, adding that it will simplify the task of identifying the people involved in the crash.

At 11:30 a.m. Friday, a 1982 Chevrolet pickup truck heading north on the Parks Highway swerved into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a 1985 Ford LTD station wagon, according to an AST press release.

The collision occurred about a half-mile north of Houston city limits.

"By the time our first responder got to the scene, both cars were engulfed," said Dennis Brodigan, director of emergency services for the Mat-Su Borough, on Saturday.

Emergency workers were unable to extract the drivers from their vehicles because of the intense flames, and both people died in their vehicles, Brodigan said.

Is that area of the Parks Highway particularly dangerous?

"From personal experience, from driving that road during the winter, there's a dangerous spot there. But that wasn't the case Friday. There are just so many reasons accidents happen. Unfortunately, both drivers perished and we'll never know the answer, really," Brodigan said.

So, far, no one has called to report a friend or loved one who is missing and may have been traveling on that stretch of the Parks Highway, Wilkinson said.

Saturday night, those who responded to the scene gathered to discuss what they experienced at the accident site.

"It'll give people an opportunity to talk through it. We are trying to mitigate post-traumatic stress from this incident," Brodigan said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.