A tour bus carrying cruise ship guests from Skagway, Alaska, was involved in an accident, with some people injured. The Skagway Fire Department said the driver suffered a medical incident and lost control of the bus. The bus veered off the road onto uneven ground and tipped over.
The driver and four passengers were taken to a hospital in Whitehorse. At least two passengers were later released with the all-clear. The bus, operated by Chilkoot Charters, had 24 passengers aboard.
Other cruise tour buses stop to assist
Chilkoot Charters owner Stacey Gould said the passengers included a doctor and another EMS-trained person. Both initially assisted people with injuries. Gould said two Holland America Princess (HAP)- operated buses stopped to offer assistance.
| Gould hailed the actions of the HAP personnel: “I can’t say enough about those two HAP drivers and the company itself, and how they assisted us. It was fantastic,” she said. |
Fire and rescue teams from Carcross and Skagway were also quickly on the scene, and another passing Chilkoot bus stopped and gave assistance. Twenty bus occupants didn’t require medical assistance and returned to their cruise ship.
Luckily, several medical personnel were in town then, as the Klondike Road Relay in Skagway was scheduled to start. This is an international, overnight road race from Skagway to Whitehorse. Many doctors and other medical workers were there to take part in the race.
| “Before the first ambulance showed up, we had a van full of emergency room doctors (from Bartlett Regional Hospital). Mid-level practitioners and nurses that showed up volunteering as good Samaritans to help. It was tremendous,” said Albert Wall, director of the nearby Dahl Memorial Clinic. |
Skagway borough manager Brad Ryan said the accident site was about a 30-minute drive out of town.
