A cold snap and winter storm caused at least one accident and calls for caution throughout the Chilkat Valley early in the week.
The accident happened Monday afternoon as snow fell on already icy streets, creating hazardous conditions for drivers. A woman in a Jeep SUV driving down Young Road slid into the intersection with Lutak Road and was hit by an Alaska Marine Lines truck.
Lee Robinson was one of the first people to arrive after the accident happened, though he did not see the collision. He said he was driving up a hill behind the AML truck. Robinson, who used to be a first responder, said he saw another person stop and call the police, so he went to check on the woman who had been driving.
Multiple airbags deployed during the collision. “It was still foggy in there. I couldn’t see in the car when I first got there. It was just white,” he said.
He opened the door and could see the woman did not have any obvious trauma, so he said he got in and braced her spine and neck area until the Haines Volunteer Fire Department and ambulance crew arrived and took over.
She was carried from her vehicle and transported away via ambulance.
Robinson said he thought the snow and ice had caught a lot of people by surprise.
“We’ve had such a mild winter and we’re not used to it right now,” he said. “People are not on guard.”
Police later sent out an emergency alert cautioning residents against driving near the intersection of Third Avenue and Mud Bay Road as ice was causing drivers to slide into the guardrail.
Haines Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian Clay said Wednesday that there had not been any other major accidents due to the icy weather.
According to the National Weather Service, a coming winter storm could drop 3 to 8 inches of snow, though the heaviest of it is forecasted west of Klukwan, past Mile 28, and is expected to make travel difficult. It could snow up to one inch an hour at its peak. That winter storm warning was in effect until Wednesday afternoon. Then forecasters expect more rain and mixed precipitation from a front pushing north throughout the region.