Seward Highway

An Anchor Point man was killed in a one-vehicle accident on the Seward Highway near Moose Pass Wednesday afternoon.

At about a quarter of three, 46-year-old Marc Roderick was driving his 2007 Kenworth northbound on the highway near mile 34, pulling a trailer with an excavator on it.

The Alaska State Troopers report that the Kenworth left the roadway and struck the rock wall, causing the heavy equipment on the trailer to lurch forward, crushing the cab of the truck.

Roderick was pronounced dead on the scene. Next of kin have been notified.

The mystery remains for a third day of a Palmer man who went missing late Friday night along the Seward Highway.

The Alaska State Troopers report online that 56-year-old Earl “Rocky” Ashworth III of Palmer had walked away in an unknown direction from his camp near the Hope Cutoff.

The driver of a tour bus that caused a fatal crash on the Seward Highway in 2015 has been indicted by an Anchorage grand jury. Sixty-three-year-old Charles Curtis of Wasilla was charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide and two counts of assault in the second degree. In an announcement, the district attorney also added nine counts of fourth degree assault. The indictment was announced Friday.

An area better known for rock falls and avalanches was shut down for over five hours Monday morning due to a large landslide. The rock, soil and vegetation closed lanes in both directions of the Seward Highway at Milepost 105, just west of Indian. 

Shannon McCarthy, Department of Transportation Central Region spokeswoman, says the highway was reopened at about noon.

“I see a lot of rockslides along that section of highway, but we don’t typically see a lot of areas which are treed that slide,” she said.