By Diana Chaudhary December 27, 2010
I would like to thank the Alaska State Troopers for fearlessly and selflessly doing their duty - NOT!! On Sunday afternoon, like many other Ketchikan locals, my daughters and I decided to take a drive out to Ward Lake and get some fresh air while taking the dog for a walk around the lake. It was a bit drizzly and the temperature was 42 degrees in Ketchikan. After turning onto Ward Lake road, it became obvious that the road was unsafe. Unfortunately, after turning onto the road, there is nowhere for a big car to turn around until the parking lot. Driving slowly down the road, there was a Suburban in the ditch with 6 children in the car including 2 very young toddlers. It was impossible to stop and we swung thru the parking lot intending to see if they needed help on the way back up. Slowing down as we came to the car, my 4-wheel drive studded tire vehicle lost traction and began to slide backwards on the slick, wet ice. My car became stuck on the ice, and every time I tried to move, it slid closer to falling off the steep dropoff next to the road. As my daughters were walking up to Revilla Road to get help, another car (with another child as a passenger) came careening down the road and landed in the ditch, narrowly missing them. They continued to the head of the road and began turning traffic away while waiting for help. Soon, the State Trooper arrived on the scene and when told of the situation with 2 cars in the ditch and one stuck in the road, asked if anyone was hurt. When told that no one was hurt, he told the children that it was a closed road and he had no responsibility to help. Needless to say, the girls were appalled at his rudeness and insensitivity as he drove off down the road. Between the 3 cars, there were over 10 children down that road, and it was so unsafe that cars were going into the ditch one after another. If my daughters had not spent over an hour up there turning cars away, I am certain there would have been more accidents and quite possibly injuries. Maybe then the State Trooper could have brought himself to help. Now to those of you who will say that we should have known better - the road was clear up until that point and the temperature was 42 degrees. It was unexpected that we would encounter that much ice. The Trooper did not offer to even call a tow truck and when the other mother tried to flag him down, he just kept driving - didn't even stop to talk to her. He also did not make any attempt to block off the road to try to prevent further accidents. With that many kids out there and cars (with children) continuing down the road because it was not blocked off, there would most certainly been more accidents if my daughters had not flagged cars down and turned them away Suffice it to say that at this moment words cannot properly describe my feelings about the Alaska State Troopers. I feel so safe and secure knowing that they will go the extra mile to help insure the public's safety. Diana Chaudhary
Received December 26, 2010 - Published December 27, 2010
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