ANCHORAGE — Thirteen people required hospitalization after a motor home slammed into the back of a bus that was turning into a wilderness lodge near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
The extent of injuries from late Sunday morning accident near Copper Center, were not known, an Alaska State Trooper spokesman said Monday.
At least one ground ambulance took some of the injured to a nearby medical facility in Glennallen, Alaska, while a helicopter and at least one fixed wing aircraft took others to hospitals in Wasilla and Anchorage, about 160 miles to the west, Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain said.
The northbound bus had 32 people on board, and it was struck just before 11 a.m. Sunday as it attempted to turn off the Richardson Highway into the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, DeSpain said.
The motor home with four people inside was driven by Jesse Johnson, 47, of Anchorage.
The bus was from North Pole Tour, located in North Pole. It had Korean writing on the side, DeSpain said, and the same language appears on the company’s website. A man who answered the phone at North Pole Tour on Monday afternoon declined comment to The Associated Press and said the owner was not available.
Lynn Williams, a manager at the lodge, also declined comment to the AP per company policy.
No citations were immediately issued, and the collision remains under investigation, DeSpain said.
