It's Two Months After 5-Car Tazlina Pileup... And Nobody Knows Much About Nothin' At All...
Judy & Mike Shelton Of Gakona Aren't Getting The Official Information They Need From Troopers Two Vehicles From The Dangerous Midd...
https://www.countryjournal2020.com/2024/09/its-two-months-after-5-car-tazlina.html
Judy & Mike Shelton Of Gakona Aren't Getting The Official Information They Need From Troopers
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| Two Vehicles From The Dangerous Middle Of The Pack – Tazlina 5-Car Crash. (Photo Courtesy Shilah Butler) |
Mike Was In "Vehicle #1" At Tazlina Traffic-Stop Wreck On August 1st, 2024
His Car Was Pushed 30 Feet By The Alyeska Truck Right Behind Him
September 25th, 2024
On August 1st, 2024, there was an awful 5-vehicle crash near Simpson Hill in Tazlina. Witnesses say that a car came hurtling into four vehicles that were waiting at a traffic flagger road construction work stop. Several vehicles were towed away. At least one person was hurt. Witnesses took dramatic photos of wrecked cars in various states of destruction.
The first person in the line of cars was Mike Shelton.
Mike is a former DOT worker who is an experienced truck and heavy equipment operator. Every morning he drives down from his home next to the Gakona River Bridge to Copper Center Lodge to hang out with his friends. And that was why he was there.
It was now about 11:30 am.
•••
After the crash, the incident was big news all over Tazlina, and in other parts of the Copper Valley. People talked about it. But there was no Trooper Report. When the Journal asked the Department of Public Safety Communications Department about it, this was the reply…
"I cannot find any record of a vehicle collision in this area during the timeframe you provided. If there were no injuries or significant traffic impediments, Troopers would not typically respond to damage only vehicle collisions."
Apparently, this just wasn't bad enough to report on the official site.
Finally, prodded by the Copper River Country Journal for some sort of official mention, the Communications Department gave a brief summary on August 13th specifically to the Journal:
"On August 1, 2024 at 11:24 am, the Alaska State Troopers were notified of a vehicle collision near mile 113 of the Richardson Highway. Troopers and VPSOs responded. A preliminary investigation revealed that three vehicles were stopped by a construction flagger when two other vehicles failed to stop and collided with the stopped vehicles. Three vehicles were towed from the scene. No injuries were reported to Troopers and no significant road closures occurred."
The Trooper Communications Department chided the Copper River Country Journal for even asking about an incident where "no injuries were reported" and there were "no significant road closures." Warning that there were more "extremely serious" incidents elsewhere – like multiple deaths and violent crime – the Troopers said,
"DPS does not typically post press releases on damage only vehicle collisions..."
The Troopers told the Journal that this story was maybe "significant for your local publication" but it was not of "regional, statewide or national public interest."
•••
Two months after the incident, Judy Shelton does not think the accident was a small thing. Although her husband, Mike, wasn't hurt, she thinks it was just luck. "If he had been in Vehicle #3 he probably wouldn't be alive," Judy told the Journal. "He has that small pickup. Anybody in a small vehicle in the middle of that row, he probably would have had death. Vehicle #4 would have crawled up in his back end. We're thankful he's Number One."
When the accident occurred, Mike had put his car into neutral. It was bounced at least 30 feet. Fortunately, the flagger was off to the side and wasn't hit. The Alyeska worker in the work pickup behind him "was really concerned that he had been hurt."
•••
The timeline of what has followed after the crash has moved at a glacial pace. And now, there are still no answers. The accident happened on August 1st. Then there was no Trooper Report on the Trooper dispatch site on the web.
On August 13th, there was that made-to-order report for the Journal.
On August 26th – one month ago – Judy Shelton filled out an official form to the state asking for information. It's called Form #12-200, a "Request For Crash Report Form." She believes it's supposed to be generated by law enforcement officers at the scene. Upset she had to pay for it, she mailed the form to Anchorage along with a check.
Official accident report forms are required by insurance companies. "I'm not looking for a press release," said Judy.
A month after filing the form – on the morning of Wednesday, September 25th – and two months after the crash, the $10 check hadn't been cashed, and the Sheltons had still not received a Crash Report for insurance purposes.
Judy is not happy. "I ordered it a month ago, which was almost a month after it happened. I would have thought by then they would have had everything together and sent it."
Somehow, to Judy, this seems like some sort of coverup. And that makes it even more of a problem.
As she told the Journal on September 25th,
"Anytime you're covering up, no matter what the issue, you've made a bigger issue..."
1st In Line, Mike Shelton's Pickup Wasn't As Damaged As Others (Photo, Judy Shelton)
