Vehicle crashes take lives in Southcentral Alaska

MAT-SU -- An Anchorage man died early Thursday morning near Jim Creek following a collision involving a truck and an off-road motorcycle. At approximately 2 a.m., Alaska State Troopers received a report of the incident and arrived on scene to find that Nathan D. Van Horne, 22, was not breathing. A group of passersby had assisted in transporting Van Horne to the beginning of a trail, off Sullivan Road, according to trooper reports, where emergency medical personnel were able to assist him. He was rushed to Valley hospital, but died at 5:25 a.m. from his injuries.

Troopers' initial investigation indicated the Toyota truck, driven by Brian D. Green, 23, of Anchorage, was heading southbound along a dirt trail when the motorcycle, traveling in the opposite direction, collided head-on with the truck. It was unknown at the time of the trooper release if Van Horne was wearing a helmet. An investigation of the incident is continuing.

Vehicle collisions have been responsible for other deaths in Southcentral Alaska recently.

In Glennallen Tuesday troopers responded to a motor-vehicle crash at Mile 149.5 Glenn Highway where two people had been found dead alongside the road. Upon arrival troopers contacted three men near an overturned silver 1997 GMC truck. They said they hadn't witnessed the crash, but found the vehicle and two bodies in the ditch at about 9 p.m. The men said the two people -- a man and a woman -- had no pulse and were cold to the touch, according to the trooper report.

Troopers identified the woman as Tonya Frederick, 21, of Anchorage, and the man as Jaron Cole, 23, also of Anchorage. The truck was registered to Frederick's father, Douglas, owner of the Sportsman Paradise Lodge, troopers said.

From the scene troopers determined the pair were going to the lodge on Nabesna Road with supplies when the vehicle veered off the road, went down an embankment and flipped 12 times ejecting the passengers before coming to rest upside-down. It was unclear who was driving, the cause for the vehicle leaving the road, or exactly what time the incident occurred. It was believed that neither were wearing a seat belt.

Monday a California woman died as the result of injuries sustained in a June 28 motor-vehicle collision near Hope. Elaine Gutleben, 80, of Alameda, was a passenger in a 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Chester Gutleben, 83, when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel, troopers said. The Explorer left the road near Mile 53.9 Seward Highway, rolled several times and came to rest on its wheels in a creek. Elaine Gutleben was taken by helicopter to Providence Hospital. The driver, along with Philip Gutleben, 55, of Bethel, and Lloyd H. Day, 55, of Santa Rosa, Calif., were taken to Kenai Peninsula Hospital and treated for injuries. All passengers reported to be wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, according to troopers.

In what appeared to be another case of someone falling asleep at the wheel, two Ohio men died from a Thursday morning collision. Troopers reported Ben Shimbo, 73, of Kirkland, Wash., was driving a Kia Optima rental car on the Parks Highway near Trapper Creek when he may have fallen asleep at the wheel causing him to veer across the center line and hit three of six motorcyclists going the opposite direction. Shimbo and his wife Etsu, 64, were wearing seat belts and were treated for minor injuries sustained in the collision.

Motorcyclists Tim Boyce, 56, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Greg Keyes, 56, of Mentor, Ohio, died as a result of injuries from the crash. Boyce was pronounced dead on the scene, Keyes was flown to an Anchorage hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, according to troopers.

The third motorcyclist, Biagio "Ben" Tamaro, 61, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, was treated at Valley Hospital and released.

Statistics have shown that while more motor-vehicle crashes occur in the winter in Alaska, more serious- and fatal-injury collisions occur during the summer months, mostly due to human error. According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, human error is the most common cause of all crashes in Alaska, with unsafe speed, alcohol/drug use and driver inattention as the most frequent causes. Falling asleep at the wheel accounted for 3.1 percent of fatal crashes caused by human error in 2000 (the latest statistics available).

Troopers warn drivers to always wear seat belts, drive sober, not speed, pay attention to the road and get appropriate rest during Alaska's long summer days.