Narrow Alaska road called factor in isle duo’s deaths
Star-Bulletin staff
A motor home accident that killed a Hawaii couple on Tuesday in Alaska occurred when the vehicle's right front tire went onto the shoulder of the road and led the motor home into a ditch and down an 8-foot embankment.
"It's a narrow road there. ... (The driver) realized he couldn't correct much because there's traffic coming," said Beth Ipsen, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman. "It just kind of sucked him in. There's not a lot of shoulder there."
Investigators said the motor home hit several trees before coming to a stop against a large tree.
Jeffrey and Dawn Klausing, both 41, died in the Seward Highway accident at about 3:40 p.m. The Klausings were sitting on a couch in the back of the motor home and died on impact, Ipsen said.
Four other passengers were taken to area hospitals, and all have been released.
A family member of Dawn Klausing said the Makakilo couple had a 3-year-old girl and a 1- 1/2 -year-old boy. The children were at a camp in Alaska at the time of the crash.
A U.S. Pacific Command spokesman said Jeffrey Klausing was a civilian Department of Defense employee in the Joint Intelligence Operations Center at Camp Smith.