Alaska News

Why did the chicken cross the road? It was being dragged by a marten. And it caused a crash.

A struggle between a chicken and a marten on a rain-slicked highway near Ketchikan led to a car accident Saturday, but no one was seriously injured, Alaska State Troopers reported.

Troopers, along with Alaska Wildlife Troopers and members of the North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department, responded to the site of the crash, at Mile 10 of the North Tongass Highway, at 11:50 a.m. Saturday.

Witnesses reported that the marten -- a carnivorous member of the weasel family -- was "fighting/dragging a chicken across the southbound lane" on a curve of the highway.

Myrna Losquadro, 75, of Ketchikan, was driving a Honda Civic southbound on the highway when she rounded a curve and hit the brakes in an attempt to avoid colliding with the animals, according to troopers.

Burton Morrison, 47, was also driving southbound with two passengers in a Dodge Truck and tried to avoid Losquardo's vehicle as he rounded the same curve.

"Due to heavy rain at the time, Morrison's vehicle slid on the wet roadway and rear-ended Losquadro's vehicle," troopers wrote in an online dispatch Sunday.

His 21-year-old passenger was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.

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No other injuries were reported.

Troopers did not say what became of the chicken or marten.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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