Snowmachiner collides with Iditarod team then flees the scene, troop…

A snowmachiner collided with a team competing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and then fled the scene, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers said in an online dispatch Wednesday morning that the collision happened between the checkpoints of Koyuk and Elim, more than three-quarters of the way into the thousand-mile race. The collision was reported to troopers at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Iditarod officials said in a statement that the musher involved was Bailey Vitello of New Hampshire. Vitello was not injured and no dogs died. Troopers initially said that at least one dog was injured. But the later Iditarod statement said the snowmachine “made contact” with one of Vitello’s dogs but the dog is not injured and is still racing.

A Facebook post from Vitello’s team describes the incident.

“When the team was running a straightaway stretch in broad daylight a snowmobile came down the trail recklessly driving and clipped one of the dogs on the team,” it says. “Bailey did everything in his power to try to gain the attention of the driver whom tried to continue down the trail after hitting said dog.”

The post said Vitello was able to confront the snowmachiner, get information about who they were and then contacted officials. It said the musher put the dog, named Oak, in his sled bag to transport it to the next checkpoint, where the veterinarians gave Oak “a clean bill of health.” 

“We were the lucky ones on this day and many teams this year haven’t been so fortunate,” the post said.

Earlier in the race, a moose attacked Dallas Seavey’s dog team, injuring one of his dogs, Faloo, before the musher shot the moose. Three dogs have also collapsed and died on the trail this year. It is the most dog deaths since 2017.

Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said investigators are working to track down the snowmachiner. 

“The musher provided us with a very good description of the snowmachine, as well as some other information which has helped us identify a person of interest,” McDaniel said. “We’re working on contacting that person today, and hope to have additional information to release.”

Back in 2016, a snowmachiner also ran into dog teams. The man admitted to driving drunk when he aimed his snowmachine at the teams of Aliy Zirkle and Jeff King, killing one dog and injuring others.

This winter, during training season, there were two deadly accidents involving dog teams and snowmachines on the Denali Highway. Three dogs died that belonged to longtime musher Jim Lanier. And in the other crash, two dogs were killed and seven were injured in a team belonging to Seavey, who won his sixth Iditarod on Tuesday.