‘Amazed that she’s alive’: 18-year-old driver in ICU after hitting moose on icy road

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - A mother in Alaska said her 18-year-old daughter is lucky to be alive after hitting a moose Monday night while driving down an icy Anchorage road.

“That’s what we’ve been hearing this entire ordeal, from the EMTs to the doctors; they are amazed that she’s alive,” Megan Stone said about her daughter’s crash.

According to Stone, the collision occurred when her daughter Autumn was driving home and a moose appeared in the roadway.

Stone said she does not believe her daughter had any time to brake.

When firefighters arrived, they found a badly damaged vehicle with Autumn trapped inside. It took several crews to cut her out with the Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tools.

Anchorage firefighter Jason Dolph said moose are particularly dangerous when they are hit at highway speeds.

“Typically when a car strikes a moose, that moose becomes suspended in the air,” Dolph said. “And when that moose then lands on the vehicle. In this case, it landed on the hood and kind of the windshield and roof area. We see forces of 30,000 to 40,000 pounds being put onto that car.”

Fish and Game Biologist Cory Stantorf said there are usually about 100 moose-vehicle collisions in the Anchorage area every year, but this is the time when they start to increase.

“Not only do we have moose moving because of the rut, following cows, we are also doing that morning commute in the pitch-black, but kids are also going to school in the pitch-black, and there’s not a lot of contrast without snow to illuminate these moose,” Stantorf said. “So drivers really need to slow down because there’s just not the reaction time that we have in the summer.”

As for Autumn, her mother said Wednesday that she was still in the ICU, where she was expected to remain for several days.

Stone said her daughter has some brain bruising, lacerations and a broken hand, but didn’t appear to have any catastrophic injuries.

Stone said she’s seen pictures of the wreck and was relieved her daughter survived.

“It’s horrifying to see those photos as her mom, but I’m also grateful, because I can put into context just how close we were to losing her,” she said.