Willow man collides with school bus, dies

TALKEETNA — Alaska State Troopers report that a man died Tuesday after crashing his minivan into a school bus on the Parks Highway. According to a trooper report, the accident was reported at 3:21 p.m., at Parks Highway and McKinley Avenue around Mile 92 of the highway.

Richard L. Pride Jr., 63, of Willow, hit the bus while it was stopped with its flashing lights on while letting a student off the bus.

“There was a teenager that was getting off of the bus that was the only one that reported to us that was injured,” said trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Troopers say Pride was not wearing a seatbelt, but his airbag did deploy.

“Most airbags are designed to work in conjunction with a seatbelt not as a standalone, save-your-life device,” Peters said.

The press release says Pride was pronounced dead at the scene and was released to a funeral home.

The press release described the one student’s injuries as minor and says her father drove her away from the scene.

Bus driver Nancy Ebner, 52, of Talkeetna, was not hurt. The remainder of Students were put on another bus and taken home.

Troopers estimate damage to the bus at $500 and say the minivan was demolished. Both were impounded as troopers investigate the crash. The wreck closed the highway for six hours.

Peters said there were some skid marks showing that the driver had tried to stop but didn’t try soon enough.

“It looked like he realized way too late. There was some signs of some late skid-marks but it wasn’t in time to prevent him from rear-ending the bus,” she said.

She said driving conditions at the time were poor.

“The roads were icy however there was also the sun pretty low in the sky giving the road a glare,” Peters said.

But that doesn’t mean that the ice or the glare caused the crash.

“We don’t know if he didn’t see the bus or if he was paying attention to something else,” Peters said. “He was the only person that was inside that vehicle and because he didn’t make it, he can’t tell us what transpired.”

The past two weeks, with heavy snowfall, have been tough on Valley school buses. Palmer Police reported two crashes involving buses, first on Nov. 1 and then again on Nov. 3.

Both were reported to be at the intersection of Arctic Avenue and Glenn Highway. The first one sent a person to the hospital.

The second didn’t involve any injuries.

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