Auto Accidents: 2 Bikes, 2 Cars, 8 People Involved in Fatal Crash

The Alaska State Troopers are investigating a crash that involved eight people. An AST spokesperson says three people lost their lives, which is not unusual for auto accidents that involve motorcycles. Traffic on Parks Highway was disrupted for almost 12 hours.

A preliminary crash report indicates that it occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. on a recent Monday near Fairbanks. A Palmer woman, whose daughter, age 5, was in the station wagon with her was southbound on the highway when she veered across the center line. Two northbound motorcycles could not avoid colliding with the vehicle. One biker’s wife who rode as a passenger died at the crash scene, while the other biker was airlifted with critical injuries to his lower body.

Reportedly, that motorcycle rider’s wife was following behind them in a pickup truck, and she crashed into the wreck of the station wagon. Two children, ages 10 and 3, suffered injuries and were taken to a hospital. This crash also killed the driver who crossed the center line. Her 5-year-old daughter suffered critical injuries to which she succumbed later. Authorities say impaired driving is not suspected, but it could not be ruled out until blood test results were obtained.

When it comes to legal actions that might follow auto accidents such as this one, the family of the deceased motorcycle passenger could file a wrongful death claim against the estate of the driver deemed at fault. The deaths of the station wagon driver along with her child passenger will likely be handled by their insurance since it appears that driver was responsible for the crash. However, it might be proved that the pickup driver followed to close, thus contributing to the accident that caused their deaths. Then there might be grounds for the injured biker and the two injured children to file personal injury claims against the two drivers. This underscores the fact that the experience of an Alaska personal injury and wrongful death attorney would likely be crucial to unravel the legal intricacies of a multi-vehicle accident such as this one.