Three Californians dead in vehicle rollover on Alaska's Parks Highway
Originally published Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 12:09 p.m.
Updated Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 2:36 p.m.
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE — Three California men died and two Michigan men were critically hurt in a vehicle rollover on Alaska’s Parks Highway, state troopers said Saturday.
Troopers identified the dead as 21-year-old William Bradley, 21-year-old Nathan Pollard and 21-year-old Jerry Luzzi. The injured were identified as 20-year-old Matthew Holmes and 19-year-old Christopher Niles.
The hometowns of the five were not immediately available.
Bradley was driving a 2003 Infiniti Friday night when the vehicle rolled several times, ejecting all five men, near mile 131 of the highway, southeast of Denali National Park and Preserve. Earlier that day Bradley, Pollard and Niles were seen eating hamburgers at the West Rib Cafe and Pub, where Bradley and Pollard also had a beer each, according to troopers.
Pollard and Luzzi died at the scene and Bradley died on the way to a hospital, said troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
The crash occurred about two miles from the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, troopers said. The five had seasonal jobs there, according to hotel workers.
Ipsen said none of the men was wearing a seat belt.
Troopers said their investigation was continuing.
Community Discussion
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I think it's interesting that they made it 45 miles from the West Rib before they crashed. That is a terrible place to have an accident, the nearest Ambulance is 15 minutes away, and it's 2 hours from the hospital. Hopefully the other 2 boys make it.
Thats so sad.
No seatbelts were worn? Another reminder to make sure our "immortal" kids do wear their seatbelts.
Folks- most of you have no idea about the forces involved in a high speed vehicle roll-over. The G- forces involved are far beyond the ability of a person to "hang on".
Often full, or partial, ejections occur. Partial ejections leave the person half way out the window as the vehicle spins along the longitudinal axis- resulting in horrific injuries- particularly to the head and spine.
Full ejections can leave an occupant underneath a vehicle. This happened to a friend of mine- a fatal injury.
I recall one accident I saw where all three occupants were flung out the rear window. They survived- but the injuries were all terrible- with one young woman who had her face torn in half. And that was in addition to a severe spinal injury.
Let this terrible accident by a stark reminder for the rest of us to PLEASE wear your seat belts- and not to drink before getting behind the wheel of a car.
My condolences to the families of these kids.
My heart goes out to the families and friends of these young men. They'll be in my prayers.
Please folks, SamBam gives a great description of the forces that affect our bodies during a rollover. I've witnessed many ejection fatalities during my career, and I know for a fact that seat belts save lives.
Please, please, PLEASE! Wear your seatbelts.
I agree that they should have worn seat belts, but the fact is this is my cousin and little Jerry was a great kid with so much to look forward to. His family will miss him always.
I wonder if the individual that died on the way to the hospital could have been saved if the MAST unit was still active from Ft. Wainwright? I think we will be reading about tragic deaths that could have been prevented if there were a Medevac available. Just something to think about...
This is tragic. Five families lost their Son's. My condolences. But, I do agree that this should be a sobering reminder to the rest of us why seatbelts are so important.
Kletomax - MAST wouldn't go that far south. Guardian Flight was dispatched from Fairbanks to meet an ambulance with one of the patients at the Talkeetna airport, along with LifeGuard from Anchorage. LifeGuard is the air ambulance who has always covered that area, so MAST being available or not wouldn't have changed things in this situation.
Ultimately these young men made poor decisions. When we are young we all feel we will never die. Can this behavior be stopped? Yes, but at what time and place is it someone should have intervened? People die every day from all sorts of things. Those who died will be remembered and life will go on.
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