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The pick-up truck involved sits damaged along the roadway at the scene of a vehicle vs. bicyclist fatal accident at the intersection of the Steese and Johansen Expressways Wednesday afternoon, July 28, 2010. Eric Engman/News-Miner
FAIRBANKS - 14-year-old bicyclist is dead after being struck by a pickup truck on the Steese Highway.

The teenage girl, identified by Fairbanks police as Kirsten Shaye Tompkins, was riding her bike westbound at the Johansen intersection just after 2 p.m. Wednesday. She was struck by a white Ford F-150, which was northbound on the Steese.

Several witnesses told police the truck ran a red light as three juvenile bicyclists headed away from the Latter-day Saints church off the Steese, Fairbanks Police Department Detective Peyton Merideth said. The accident is still under investigation.

Kirsten's 13-year-old brother, Layne, was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries also received in the accident. He is expected to be treated and released. A third juvenile cyclist appeared to be uninjured.

Everyone involved in the collision has been identified. Police have not yet released the name of the driver of the pickup, which had an Airport Equipment Rental logo on the driver's side door.

The driver of the truck was interviewed at the Fairbanks police station shortly after the crash, Merideth said. Per standard department procedure, the case will be forwarded to the Fairbanks District Attorney's office for review when investigation is complete, Merideth said. It will ultimately be up to the district attorney to decide whether or not to press charges.

Meredith encouraged anyone who witnessed the collision to contact to Fairbanks police at 450-6500.

Within 20 minutes of the accident, police had used orange spray paint to mark the girl's bicycle and other possessions and pieces of the truck that fell off in the collision.

The girl's body lay about 150 feet from the likely point of impact with the truck.

Fairbanks police officers and firefighters were at the Steese and Johansen intersection for more than an hour after the incident.

The northbound lanes of the Steese were closed at the both the Johansen and Trainor Gate Road intersections, creating extensive traffic backups.

At about 3 p.m., officials estimated the roads would be closed for at least another two hours.

Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at 459-7545.

To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.

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