Four dead, one critically injured in Parks Highway crash

Four people are dead, and one is in critical condition after a multi-vehicle crash on the Parks Highway on Monday.

The first reports of the crash came in around 4:30 in the afternoon, according to the Alaska State Troopers. Troopers say 40-year-old Cary Taylor-Bloomquist of Palmer was driving southbound near Mile 156 of the Parks Highway when she crossed into the northbound lane.

Taylor-Bloomquist’s Subaru Outback collided with two motorcycles headed north. Jeffrey and Charlene Esley of Fairbanks were on one of the motorcycles and were killed in the crash. David Fulton, also of Fairbanks, was driving the other motorcycle. As of Tuesday afternoon, he remains in the hospital in critical condition.

David Fulton’s wife, Heidi, was driving a pickup behind the two motorcycles. After the initial collision, Heidi Fulton’s truck crashed into Cary Taylor-Bloomquist’s vehicle. Cary died at the scene. Her five-year-old daughter, Addy, was a passenger in Taylor-Bloomquist’s car, and was critically injured. She was airlifted to Providence Medical Center where she later died of her injuries.

Heidi Fulton was not seriously injured in the collision. Her two children were taken by ambulance to Wasilla and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Emergency responders closed the Parks Highway after the crash. Eventually one lane was opened to allow traffic to pass. The highway fully reopened early Tuesday morning. Troopers say the investigation into the crash is ongoing.