Four dead in two fatal crashes on the Parks Highway

A pair of fatal accidents in the Northern Valley left four people dead over the weekend, and stopped traffic along the Parks Highway for more than eleven hours total over the weekend.

According to Alaska State Troopers, the first collision occurred on Saturday at around 6:00 pm and involved three vehicles.  Troopers say a Dodge pickup truck was stopped in the northbound lane, waiting to turn left near Mile 88 of the Parks Highway. A Ford Fusion with five people inside was stopped stopped behind it. According to Troopers, a Toyota 4-Runner traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into the back of the Fusion, which then collided with the pickup. In total, seven people were taken to the hospital, and twenty-year-old Isaiah Harding of North Pole was declared dead at the scene.

On Sunday, a second fatal collision took place about a mile south of Saturday’s crash.  Troopers say a compact car was attempting to pass in a no-passing zone when it collided head-on with a pickup truck traveling the opposite direction.  Both vehicles were engulfed in flames, and the driver of the car, along with both occupants of the pickup, were declared dead at the scene.  Their identities have not been made public as of early Monday afternoon.