Prius driver airlifted after T-bone crash at Moose Pass highway junction

A Toyota Prius ran a stop sign at the Seward and Sterling Highway intersection in Moose Pass on Sunday and was struck by a southbound semi-truck, sending the driver to Anchorage by helicopter and closing both highways during the holiday weekend.

Alaska State Troopers said the crash happened at 2:44 p.m. The Prius pulled into the path of the semi. The passenger was transported by ground ambulance. The semi driver was not injured. Both highways were intermittently closed while extrication and investigation took place. The junction is a major hub for Kenai Peninsula travel, where the Sterling Highway branches west toward Soldotna and Homer and the Seward Highway runs north to Anchorage.

The crash site falls within a stretch that the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has documented as having a history of fatal and serious-injury crashes. The department's Safer Seward Highway project recorded 9 fatal crashes and 21 serious-injury crashes on the Safety Corridor between 2018 and 2022. A rehabilitation project covering mileposts 25.5 to 36, which includes the Moose Pass area, cites rutted pavement, narrow shoulders, and limited passing opportunities as ongoing hazards. "The number one goal is to reduce the rate of serious and fatal crashes on the Seward Highway," the project team has said. The investigation continues.