Alaska News

Troopers: 2 arrested trying to walk through avalanche work zone

Alaska State Troopers arrested two people Saturday who were trying to walk to Valdez on a stretch of the Richardson Highway that is closed because of avalanches, said a trooper report.

Donney Carlson, 20, and Kristina Clark, 22, walked across an avalanche at Mile 39 on the same day that the state Department of Transportation began avalanche control, using explosives from Mile 12 to Mile 39, troopers said.

DOT contacted troopers about the pair Saturday afternoon. The two were told by DOT and troopers that "the road was impassable and they were to turn around," the report said.

When Carlson and Clark refused to listen to DOT and troopers, they were taken in a helicopter to Valdez and arrested on charges of obstruction of a highway and disorderly conduct, troopers said.

DOT stopped avalanche work until the two were "in a safe location." The work could not be completed until the next day because of the delay, troopers said.

The Richardson Highway, shut down Friday, will remain closed from Mile 12 to 64 until further notice as transportation employees work to clear avalanche debris from the road, said a statement from DOT.

Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.

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By TEGAN HANLON

thanlon@adn.com

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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