Fairbanks woman dies in moose-related Parks Highway accident

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A woman died Sunday morning on the Parks Highway in a rollover accident after steering to avoid a moose, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers and Healy emergency medical services responded to Mile 262 of the highway at 5 a.m. Sunday, where a 2004 Ford F150 pickup driven by Fairbanks resident Margaret Stone, 51, had left the roadway.

According to Stone, she swerved to avoid a moose that ran onto the road and entered a skid that sent her into a ditch, where it rolled over several times; the truck’s airbags did not deploy. Stone’s passenger, 45-year-old Diane Schultz of Fairbanks, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the truck.

Medics declared Schultz dead at the scene. Stone, who had worn her seat belt, was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Schultz’s next of kin have been notified, and an investigation is being conducted by the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol.