Driver dies after hitting a moose near Alaskan national park

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A car crashed into a moose early on the morning of Aug 1 near the entrance to America’s Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, killing the driver and injuring a passenger, park officials said.

The crash happened south of the entrance to the Denali Park Road near the 378.2km mark of George Parks Highway, the park said in a statement.

The driver, a 24-year-old male from Bulgaria whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

A female passenger, also 24, from North Macedonia, was injured. She was taken to a hospital in Fairbanks, Alaska, about 201km away.

The National Park Service said it was investigating the crash and that it was working with the Bulgarian embassy in Washington to notify the driver’s family.

The crash happened about 3.2km from the only road entrance to Denali, at the 381.4km mark of the Parks Highway. In Alaska, rural destinations are often identified by a mile marker rather than an address.

Officials did not say what happened to the moose.

The park noted that moose, caribou and other large animals, which are often active at dawn, dusk and night, can be difficult to see because they are so tall that they do not readily appear in headlights.

Drivers should slow down in dark conditions and use high beam headlights, officials said. Exceeding the speed limit increases damage and injury in a crash.

Experts also recommend scanning roads and shoulders for movement or eye glow – the reflective shine that the eyes of many animals can have at night – and not to honk at wildlife in or near the road.

Moose prefer forested and shrubby habitats, and are most likely to be seen on the first 24km of the Parks Highway, according to Denali’s website.

Moose can weigh between 364kg and 590kg, and they can reach 1.98m tall at the shoulder. In a crash with a car, a moose’s long legs would likely crumple, and the animal would land on the vehicle’s windscreen and roof. NYTIMES