Woman involved in 2 KGB accidents

A woman driving toward Wasilla was involved in two separate vehicle accidents early Monday morning that delayed traffic for at least an hour on northbound Knik-Goose Bay Road.

At about 6:45 a.m., the Hyundai sport-utility vehicle the woman was driving struck a moose and rolled off the south side of the road, near Mile 2. Chief James Steele of Central Mat-Su Fire Department said the accident trapped the woman — who was conscious — inside the car for about 25 minutes.

“Fire and rescue were there because someone reported seeing smoke, but it turned out to be just steam,” Steele said. “The impact killed the moose instantly. It looked like a little bull.”

An ambulance carried the woman away. As it turned from KGB onto the Palmer-Wasilla Highway Extension, a southbound car turning left from KGB onto the highway extension hit the back of the ambulance, which was traveling without its lights or siren on.

Steele said that accident inflicted minor damage to the ambulance and moderate damage to the car.

“We don’t know how it happened,” Steele said of that second collision. “We called another ambulance to come immediately to transfer the patient. That transfer probably occurred 10 minutes after the call for that second accident.”

The second ambulance transported the woman to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Kerry Aguirre said she could not provide information about the woman’s condition because of health-care privacy regulations; Steele said he could not provide the woman’s name because of those same restrictions.

Wasilla Police officers responded to both accidents but did not immediately return a call seeking information about the woman’s identity and age, the identity of the person whose vehicle struck the ambulance and whether that person who caused the second accident received a citation.

Steele said speed, alcohol and road conditions did not appear to be factors in either accident.