‘Thank God there were no kids there’: Black Gold Transport rig came within 30 feet of school, residents say
The driver of a heavy ore-hauling truck lost control and veered off the Alaska Highway north of Tok Monday evening before it came to a stop about 30 feet from the Dot Lake School.
Alaska State Troopers confirmed Friday that officers in Tok got a report at around 9 p.m. Monday that a Black Gold Transport truck that had gone off the highway near Dot Lake.
Dot Lake Village Chief Operating Officer Alan Faulkner says he was told by tribal members that the wreck occurred late Monday afternoon.
“Not sure, you know, if he lost control or whatever,” he said, “but anyway, that vehicle ended up leaving the roadway and coming onto the school property all the way up into the school parking lot.”
Faulkner said Thursday that he’d been trying to find out more about what happened, but hasn’t had much luck.
“We have not been able to get any confirmation from anyone exactly what took place or what happened, other than the driver had a medical issue and was medevacked out,” he said. “So thank God there were no kids there at the time. Hopefully, the driver is OK.”
A Trooper spokesperson said the driver was taken to a local clinic for medical evaluation. The spokesperson said in an email that an investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
A spokesperson for North Pole-based Black Gold Transport said in emailed responses to questions that the trailers the truck was pulling were empty and didn’t overturn. The spokesperson said company employees inspected the site and contacted the school superintendent.
At least a dozen people had posted Facebook comments about it as of Thursday. Several expressed relief that the schoolhouse wasn’t damaged and that no one was injured.
Alaska Gateway School District Superintendent Rick Luthi said the ore-hauling truck had been removed by the time he got to the school on Tuesday afternoon. But he said based on the tracks it left in the snow, the truck ended up about a dozen yards from the schoolhouse.
“It was maybe 30 feet from the edge of the building,” Luthi said.
He said the truck driver managed to avoid colliding with a light pole and other objects near the school as the truck plowed through snow after hitting the ditch.
“It's miraculous that nothing was hit,” he said, “because we've got a telephone box connector there. We've got a light pole with a concrete base. We've got a little bit of fencing there.
There was even a kind of a propane tank that was buried and off to the side there. So it was a miraculous situation that could have been very, very bad.”
The Black Gold Transport spokesperson said in an email that “We understand why an incident near the school concerns the community. BGT is addressing the findings of its investigation through additional driver-fitness reporting, dispatch verification, and equipment checks.”
The trucks and their double-dumper trailers haul dozens of loads of gold ore daily along the 250-mile route from the Manh Choh Mine near Tetlin to the Kinross Alaska mill north of Fairbanks. Black Gold Transport began the ore-hauling operation in 2023.
Many residents who live along the route have for years expressed concerns over the safety of the ore-haul operation. They include members of Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways. Mary Farrell is a member of the organization. She lives north of Fairbanks off the Steese Highway, and she says the wreck at Dot Lake and other accidents proves those concerns were legitimate.
“There's been too many ore-truck incidents, especially that happen up here by Hagelbarger (Avenue) and closer to the mine,” she said.
Farrell said she also was frustrated by the lack of information provided about the accident at Dot Lake.
“ I look and I look for a report of an accident that I know happened. People have sent me photos and, and there's troopers in the photos, and nothing. Nothing.”
She says it’s important to inform the public about accidents involving the ore trucks, because the lack of that information leads people to believe the ore-hauling operation poses little or no risk.
Faulkner, the Dot Lake Village operations officer, said Monday’s incident reinforces the need for precautions like a slower speed limit along that stretch of the Alaska Highway that residents asked state officials to impose two years ago.
“We asked for it to be reduced simply because the school is right there along the highway," he said. "And if one of these ore haulers were to lose control or blow a tire or for whatever reason something happened, trying to stop a 100-foot long, 52-ton ore hauler is a pretty big thing."
Editor’s note: Kinross Alaska is a financial contributor to KUAC.
