Two high school students, through adult representatives, are suing Arctic Sea Mining LLC for injuries they suffered during a car accident involving a steel cable stretched across a road in Nome.
Myron Angstman, an attorney representing one of the plaintiffs, says pictures of the vehicle during the incident from last year are graphic.
“The cable that they hit came over the front of their car and basically leveled the cab, not completely but it mangled the cab, and they were in the cab of course,” he said. “So it was not a pretty sight.”
According to the complaint, recently filed with the Alaska Superior Court, two minors were driving down the Port Road in Nome on Oct. 26, 2018 when their vehicle struck steel cables that were attached to a large marine vessel. One end of the cable was hooked up to a loader and the other was attached to the gold dredge, Mrytle Irene.
The plaintiffs claim Arctic Sea Mining — Ken Kerr’s company, which owns the Myrtle Irene — failed to warn them of the cables’ presence in the middle of the Port Road. As such, the two high schoolers are suing for an amount in excess of $100,000.
Angstman says more than a year later, the plaintiffs are still recovering from the injuries they sustained during the accident.
“It was a significant accident, and both of them suffered blows to the head of varying degrees,” he said. “And the progress of the recovery is uncertain at this time.”
According to Angstman, the court has not yet sent a response to their complaint, and he estimates it could be a year before the case goes to trial, if it is not settled before then.
Davis Hovey is a news reporter at KNOM - Nome.
Hovey was born and raised in Virginia. He spent most of his childhood in Greene County 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville where University of Virginia is located.
Hovis was drawn in by the opportunity to work for a radio station in a remote, unique place like Nome Alaska. Hovis went to Syracuse University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Broadcast Digital Journalism.
