One Dead, Two Injured in Parks Highway Accident

Two persons were injured and a third person died in a Parks Highway rollover that occurred on Thursday afternoon, troopers reported on Friday morning.

Troopers were called out to the accident at mile 120.5 of the Parks Highway at 3:47 pm on Thursday. When they arrived, they found that the driver of the vehicle, 31-year-old Karen Benjamin, of Eagle River, died in the crash, despite wearing her seatbelt.

Two other occupants in the 2008 Ford F-350 were injured in the fatal rollover. 59-year-old Mississippi resident, Larry Benjamin, who was also wearing a seatbelt, was extracted from the vehicle, and transported to the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center by EMS.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]61-year-old Katherine Benjamin, also of Mississippi, was ejected from the backseat of the pickup when it rolled. She was transported to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage by helicopter. Troopers say that she sustained serious injuries.

The investigation conducted at the scene found that the pickup was traveling southbound on the Parks, when the driver encountered ice on the highway and lost control. The vehicle then crossed the road, and entered the ditch, and rolled.

Karen’s remains were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy.

Next of kin were notified of the incident.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]