Sled dog team struck by snowmachine in Interior Alaska was from Dallas Seavey’s kennel

Update, Friday, Nov. 24: Following an investigation, the operator of the snowmachine was cited Friday for negligent driving, Alaska State Troopers said in an online update.

Original story:

The sled dog team that collided with a snowmachine on the Denali Highway last week was part of five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey’s renowned kennel.

Two dogs died and the remaining seven suffered injuries ranging from serious to minor, Seavey said in a widely shared social media post Wednesday.

The collision occurred near Mile 118 of the 135-mile highway, a popular area to run dog teams including for those training for races like the Iditarod or Yukon Quest.

Seavey said he and two other mushers were training with three of his teams on the highway when the nine-dog team was hit by a snowmachine approaching from the opposite direction at a high rate of speed. He said one dog died instantly, one had several broken legs and died within an hour, and three suffered compound fractures or legs nearly amputated by the impact. The remaining four had what Seavey described as relatively minor injuries.

The musher involved “had some bruising and a cut” but was otherwise not seriously hurt, Seavey wrote. The snowmachiners stopped, he said.

Of the injured dogs, one has had a leg amputated but is stable, one has been through surgery, and one needs an amputation but has inflammation in his lungs that makes surgery too risky for now, Seavey said.

Alaska State Troopers originally reported the incident over the weekend, saying it occurred around 8:30 p.m. Friday, but did not identify the mushers involved or provide additional details.

On Wednesday, a troopers spokesman identified the musher driving the sled involved in the collision as Josiah Liebe but provided little other information.

“At this point in the ongoing investigation, no citations have been issued,” spokesman Tim DeSpain said in an email. He declined to confirm details disclosed by Seavey, saying they were part of the investigation.

The mostly gravel Denali Highway leads from Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway and provided the only road access to Denali National Park before the Parks Highway was completed in the early 1970s.

The 36-year-old Seavey is tied with Rick Swenson for the most Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race victories at five. He placed second to Brent Sass in the 2022 Iditarod, and said that year he planned to take a break from the race.

Seavey lives in Talkeetna where he operates a sled dog tourism business. He’s developed an international fan base in his years mushing as part of a family with a storied legacy in the sport. His Facebook post Wednesday attracted more than 630 comments in just a few hours.

Numerous mushers have reported collisions with motorized vehicles over the years, as development and traffic encroach on mushing trails in Alaska. Iditarod veteran Karin Hendrickson broke her back in a collision along the Parks Highway near Willow in 2014. Last year, musher Jaye Foucher lost one dog and saw several others injured after a pickup drove through the team during a training run in Willow.