Anchorage Daily News

A fast-moving snowmachine smashed into a dog sled outside Kotzebue on Wednesday night, killing an Anchorage pediatrician, state troopers say.

Dr. Roger Gollub, 53, died shortly after the crash, which left a local woman who had been riding in the sled in critical condition.

Troopers say there are signs the driver of the snowmachine, a 20-year-old Ambler man, had been drinking, and they are looking into the crash.

"We're still just focused on doing a very thorough and complete investigation," said Kotzebue Sgt. Karl Main.

Gollub was in Kotzebue this week to treat children at the local health center. Wednesday night, he was traveling on a dog sled about three and a half miles outside town.

The dog team belonged to Tracey Schaeffer, an occupational therapist and musher, who rode in the sled.

"He was just thrilled to get a ride on a dog team so Tracey let him stand on the runners," said Pete Schaeffer, Tracey's brother-in-law, in a phone interview from Kotzebue.

A snowmachine rapidly approached the sled from behind, according to troopers.

"Tracey took her head lamp and flashed it toward him, and she thought that they turned, but as soon as she put the head light back in the sled ... they got hit," Pete Schaeffer said.

The impact badly injured Gollub's leg, and Schaeffer tried to tie a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, he said.

The snowmachine driver, Patrick Tickett, and his 20-year-old passenger, Clarissa Cleveland, headed back to Kotzebue, according to troopers.

Their snowmachine broken, they walked until another snowmachiner gave them a ride into town and reported the accident, Main said.

Gollub died either at the scene or on the way to treatment, according to initial reports, troopers said.

Tracey Schaeffer was flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center. With all the ribs broken on one side of her body, she had to undergo heart surgery and the removal of her spleen, her husband, Chuck, told The Associated Press.

"I have been emotional all day long off and on, but I have to remain strong so I can take our 8-year-old daughter to see her mom," he said in a telephone interview with the AP.

The 10 sled dogs are doing fine, he said.

The collision came on a local trail that connects to the Schaeffers' home at a camp about 30 miles outside Kotzebue. Such trails are shared by snowmachiners, mushers and skiers, and while some areas are wider than others, most people stick to the same part of the trail, Main said.

"There's usually a single lane that's most smooth and easy to travel."

Asked if there was any sign that the driver had been drinking, Main said yes. A pediatrician for the Indian Health Service, Gollub moved from New Mexico to Anchorage in late 2001 and treated children at the Alaska Native Medical Center.

He retired from full-time work in September after a 30-year career, said Southcentral Foundation spokeswoman Kristin Tolbert.

Gollub periodically traveled to Kotzebue as a visiting specialist, said Dr. Ruth Ann Zent, medical director for the local Maniilaq Health Center.

He was to have a full schedule of appointments with local children Thursday, she said.

Zent knew Gollub as a colleague but said he has also treated members of her family.

"I just thought he was a fabulous physician and a very sweet man at the same time," she said.

As news of his death circulated in Alaska, the parents of his former patients shared their shock and grief.

Mary Rupe of Anchorage said her adopted daughter has been Gollub's patient all her life. The girl was born 14 weeks premature and was terrified of anyone with a stethoscope -- except Gollub, she said.

"When she began speaking, she would say, 'I love you, Dr. Gollub."

The doctor made sure Rupe had his home phone number and his cell phone number, she said. "If I didn't call him, he'd have his wife call to make sure that (my daughter) was feeling OK."

Gollub had two college-age daughters of his own, said longtime friend and colleague Dr. William Green, former Chief Clinical Consultant in Pediatrics for the Indian Health Service.

Gollub was a ham operator and a long-distance runner and was just sorting out what to do with his retirement, said Green, who often looked to the younger man for advice.

"He was a real idealist. He really looked for the best in people and the best motivators and he motivated us all to work a little harder," he said.

Find Kyle Hopkins' political blog online at adn.com/alaskapolitics or call him at 257-4334.

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