Troopers Provide More Information On Two Fatalities In Car Wreck Near Gulkana

Third Passenger Who Survived Was Unnamed 21-Year Old Man From Gakona, Troopers Say 

The Alaska State Trooper Communications Department has provided the following additional information about the middle of the night car wreck on the Richardson that killed two young Copper Valley men on April 23rd. 

In response to questions from the Country Journal, Troopers said that Anthony Nelson, 19, of Tazlina and Nathaniel Kroto, also 19, of Gakona, died when they left the road and struck a tree near Mile 122 (the Glennallen landfill site) on the Richardson. It was after midnight the early morning of April 23rd, a Wednesday. 

The vehicle went off the road – the Troopers said they suspected "alcohol and speed as factors in the crash." There were three people in the car. Besides Anthony Nelson and Nathaniel Kroto, Troopers said the car's third passenger was a 21-year old man from Gakona, whom they did not name. 

Nobody was wearing a seatbelt, including the unnamed passenger, Troopers said. No one was crushed by the accident, they said.  Troopers said the vehicle did not roll over, and nobody was thrown from the car. 

Troopers said the passenger, who lived, was in the back seat, and added that somehow, "The surviving passenger got out of the vehicle after the crash." Troopers said he was not injured. "The passenger was able to walk away from the scene." 

Troopers responded to the incident at 12:52 am that Wednesday – along with EMTs, VPSOs, and local fire department personnel, the Trooper Information office told the Journal in response to a list of questions sent to Troopers on Thursday, April 24th, 2025. 

They said that finding out why the trio was out there on the road was "part of the ongoing investigation." 

Troopers did not mention drugs as a factor in the crash.