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A Sterling woman was killed Wednesday in a traffic collision on the Sterling Highway.

Mary Hunter, 87, died from injuries received in an accident near Mile 90.5 of the Sterling Highway.

Savanna Schoessler, age 17, of Soldotna, was driving southbound toward Soldotna when she lost control of her 1993 Ford Explorer and slid into oncoming traffic, according to an Alaska State Troopers report. Schoessler's vehicle was struck on the passenger side by Mary Johns' 2003 Buick LeSabre.

Johns, 65, of Sterling, was heading northbound on the Sterling Highway. It was a T-bone collision.

Hunter, who received severe injuries in the accident, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Johns.

Troopers received the call around 4:08 p.m.

No other people were involved in the accident. Both Schoessler and Johns were transported to Central Peninsula Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the collision.

Road conditions were a factor as the highway was covered with light snow and icy, according to the report.

Alcohol or drugs are not suspected to be factor.

Fire damages Sport Lake home

Paul Reynolds' home suffered an estimated $10,000 worth of damage after faulty electrical wiring ignited a fire inside of the wall on Monday.

Reynolds was plugging in an electric space heater when he heard a "popping sound," along with the heater shutting off, according to a Central Emergency Services report. He began to smell smoke about 30 minutes later. Reynolds inspected the outlet the space heater was plugged into but found nothing. He then checked an outlet across the room and discovered a "bright glow." He called 911 and attempted to extinguish the fire using a garden hose that was hooked to water inside the mobile home.

Central Emergency Services received the call around 8:46 p.m. that Reynolds' home was on fire at 44202 McLean Circle, off of Sport Lake Road.

CES Medic 1 responded within six minutes of the call and reported the smell of smoke coming from inside the home, according to the report. The fire, which began in the wall of the trailer's addition, soon spread to the ceiling.

The lightweight roof made for unstable footing, limiting the number of firefighters that could extinguish the flames. CES personnel sawed through metal sheeting to the roof so the flames could be accessed from above while another crew simultaneously pulled the ceiling down to extinguish the fire from below.

The fire was declared "under control" within 54 minutes of the first arriving engine and "out" within another 28 minutes.

Two engines, one ladder truck, a medic unit, four tankers, one heavy rescue truck, three command vehicles and 27 personnel responded to the call. A Kenai Fire Department tanker also responded.

The 1,400-foot structure received major damage to the kitchen, ceiling and roof. The remainder of the mobile home suffered minor smoke and water damage.

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.