Off-Duty EMT, Nurses Aid Alaska Man Dragged By Van
Jan. 23--A 42-year-old Anchorage man is in critical condition today after he was struck by a city Share-A-Ride van Sunday night along the Seward Highway, troopers and hospital officials say.
The northbound Ford van dragged pedestrian Patrick K. Davids about 400 feet, said troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
Davids had been crossing the highway at 7:18 p.m., between Brown Bear Saloon and the Bird Creek pullout north of Girdwood, troopers say.
Rick Ford, a volunteer EMT who restores and repairs violins in Anchorage, happened to be passing by. He stopped to help, just in time to see people pulling Davids out from under the van, Ford said.
Road conditions were "horrible at best," he said. "We'd come through the whole pass at like 25 miles an hour, coming through Turnagain."
Davids was unconscious and unresponsive, said Ford, who helped to stabilize the injured man until the Anchorage Fire Department arrived. Poor weather prevented a helicopter rescue, according to troopers.
The crash came in the darkness and blowing snow, along a straight stretch of the highway at about Mile 102, troopers said. Davids' Chevy truck was parked at the nearby pullout.
It wasn't immediately clear why Davids was walking along the highway.
"We don't know why he was stopped," said Sgt. Michael Zweifel, of the Girdwood trooper post. "And unfortunately his medical condition is not allowing us to talk to him to find out."
A trooper had spotted Davids, who was wearing dark clothing, walking northbound on the southbound side of the road moments before the accident, Ipsen said.
"(The trooper) was driving along and kind of had to swerve around Mr. Davids," she said.
The trooper stopped to turn around and talk to the pedestrian, pausing to wait for the oncoming commuter van to pass, Zweifel said.
Davids had crossed to the northbound lane where he was struck by the van. By the time the trooper arrived, the van had already come to a stop on the icy road, Zweifel said.
The fire department transported Davids to Providence Alaska Medical Center. He was in critical condition as of about 9 a.m. today, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The van was carrying six people, including the driver, whom troopers have not publicly identified.
Share-A-Ride vans are purchased by the city but generally driven by commuters who carpool to and from Anchorage from the Mat-Su and Girdwood. The commuter service is managed by a private contractor called VPSI Inc.
Given the time of the accident, the van was likely returning to Anchorage from a trip to Girdwood, said People Mover director Lance Wilber.
Wilber said he didn't not know who was driving the van and wouldn't be able to say if he did.
Ipsen said the investigation is ongoing but that "indications at this point do not point to (the driver) being at fault."
The collision closed the roadway for roughly four hours during the investigation. Troopers are asking anyone who saw Davids before the accident or witnessed the collision to call Girdwood troopers at 783-0972.
Twitter updates: twitter.com/adn_kylehopkins. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334 or email him at khopkins@adn.com.
Copyright 2012 - Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
