Bristol Palin
This is so horrible!
A man suspected of intentionally driving a snowmobile into teams of two mushers near the front of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was arrested Saturday in a Yukon River village.
Arnold Demoski, 26, of Nulato was arrested on suspicion of assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and six counts of criminal mischief.
Why would anyone do that?
The crashes killed one of King’s dogs and injured at least two others 12 miles outside of Nulato. One of Zirkle’s dogs also was injured.
Iditarod officials at first reported King had been injured. But the four-time champion said later the snowmobile had missed both him and his sled when it crashed into his dogs at high speed from behind.
Zirkle, 46, who finished second three times from 2012 to 2014, was mushing from Kokukuk to Nulato, a run of less than 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) on the Yukon River, when she was hit, race marshal Mark Nordman said Saturday.
The snowmobile hit the side of Zirkle’s sled about 5 miles (8.05 kilometers) out of Koyukuk, turned around multiple times and came back at her before driving off, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said by email.
The snowmobile reappeared 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) out of Nulato. The driver revved up and was pointed at Zirkle before leaving, Peters said.
One dog on her team was bruised. Officials described the injury as non-life-threatening.
King, a four-time Iditarod champion, was behind Zirkle and fared worse. When King reached the vicinity, he was struck from behind by the snowmobile, and at least three of his dogs were hit.
Nash, a 3-year-old male, was killed. Crosby, another 3-year-old male, and Banjo, a 2-year-old male, received injuries and are expected to survive.
I can’t imagine what would cause someone to endanger the lives of humans – or dogs! The Iditarod is an Alaskan tradition and an American tradition — no one should threaten that.
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