A North Pole man was killed in a head-on collision on an icy stretch of the Richardson Highway Wednesday morning just north of Tenderfoot Hill. Three others were transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Alaska State Troopers say 47-year-old William Powell was declared dead at the scene of the wreck near milepost 298 of the Richardson Highway, about 65 miles south of Fairbanks.
A Troopers report says they got a call about the accident around just after 8:30 a.m. and after investigating determined the driver of a northbound pickup truck lost control and collided head-on with a southbound S-U-V.
The adult male driver of the pickup sustained injuries and was transported to Fairbanks Memorial and is expected to survive.
Two women passengers in the S-U-V sustained what Troopers called non-life-threatening injuries and also were transported to Fairbanks Memorial.
The report says the Richardson Highway was closed for about two hours while Troopers investigated the wreck and removed the damaged vehicles. Intermittent lane closures continued until about 2 p.m.
Troopers say the highway was icy and slick in that area. The report says alcohol or drugs don’t appear to have been a factor in the collision, and that no charges or citations have been issued.
