Update, 2:20 p.m. Friday: Alaska State Troopers identified the passenger killed in the crash as Donny Inman, 38, of Wasilla. In addition, the SUV was a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The crash happened on a straight portion of the road and is being attributed to icy conditions, trooper spokesman Tim DeSpain said in an email Friday.
Original story:
One person died and another was seriously injured when an SUV crossed into the opposing lane of traffic on Knik-Goose Bay Road near Wasilla on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The crash happened around 1:45 p.m. at Mile 5 of the road, near the Three Bears grocery store, according to Otto Feather, director of Matanuska-Susitna Borough Emergency Services.
Troopers said the SUV was traveling outbound on Knik-Goose Bay Road when it went out of control on the icy roadway and collided with an ambulance.
The passenger in the SUV died. The driver was flown to the hospital, according to troopers.
The crash happened on a notorious stretch of Knik-Goose Bay Road, which the state Department of Transportation plans to expand from two lanes into a four-lane divided roadway. The department is in the design phase of the project, with construction scheduled to begin in 2020.
The borough ambulance was transporting a patient to the hospital at the time of the crash, Feather said. It was running a "code yellow," he said, meaning it did not have its sirens on or lights flashing, and it was traveling at "normal speeds."
In the ambulance were two medics, an intern, a patient and a family member of the patient, Feather said. He said the medics were "banged up a little bit," but no one in the ambulance was seriously injured.
Troopers did not immediately release the names of those involved in the crash. They still had to contact the family of the passenger killed.
The investigation into the crash continues, according to troopers.