Train hits, kills man and his dog

WASILLA — A man was killed and a pickup destroyed in two separate crashes with trains this weekend.

The first accident came on July 4 just south of Montana Creek. Railroad spokesman Tim Thompson said about a dozen people, who he believes were camping near the creek, were walking northbound on the track, heading back to their campsite. One of the campers, later identified as Bret P. Miller, 42, of Anchorage, had a dog with him.

“Pretty close to when the train was near the people, the dog ran out to pretty much the center of the track,” Thompson said.

Miller reached for the dog, to try to get him off the track, and was hit by the portion of the southbound train that overhangs the track. Miller was struck and thrown clear but was killed. The black Labrador retriever was also killed.

Thompson said that when the train crew saw Miller they blew the train’s horn, shut down the train’s power and applied full brakes. But by then it was too late.

“There was just no way they could stop that train,” he said.

He said the 800-foot train pulling seven cars with about 300 people on board and two locomotives would probably take 800 feet to stop and there wasn’t that much space available.

Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the troopers are mainly leaving the investigation of the incident up to the railroad, which has its own law enforcement arm.

“We had troopers on scene and investigating but they (railroad) were the lead agency,” she said.

Thompson said that in both weekend wrecks the railroad was not using a pilot car but said that wasn’t unusual. Pilot cars are generally a wintertime phenomenon, used to make sure tracks are clear and intact and that moose have a place to walk other than the tracks.

“Usually when the snow gets really deep it’s when we like to get our crews out,” Thompson said.

The second wreck came the next day, again it was a southbound train, but this time in the Eklutna area.

Thompson said a 16-year-old boy was driving his pickup on the tracks with two 18-year-olds as passengers. Just past the railroad’s Eklutna Bridge the teen tried to turn around and the truck got stuck.

“Once the truck was stuck it was locked in there,” and wasn’t going anywhere, Thompson said.

But the teens didn’t know that. They tried to use another vehicle to yank the pickup free but the train started coming.

“Everybody ran away from the truck, which is probably the best thing they could have done,” Thompson said.

No one was hurt in the accident, Thompson said. Potential criminal charges against the teen driver were sent to the District Attorney’s office for review.

Both cases, though, put train crews in a situation no one wants to be in, he said. Not only is there the trauma of hitting someone with the train, but emergency braking procedures carry with them a high risk of derailment. The pickup wreck was even more dangerous, he said.

“Anytime there’s an obstacle on the track there’s always a potential for derailment,” Thompson said. “We’ve been very fortunate in the past.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.