Teens killed when pickup plunges off Aleutians Island cliff
By DAN JOLING
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Two teenagers from an Aleutians Island city died when the pickup in which they were riding drove off a cliff.
The crash Thursday killed 16-year-old Karly MacDonald and 17-year-old Kiara Renteria of Unalaska.
The city in a release says the pickup was driven by 18-year-old Dustin Ruckman. The truck tumbled down a mountainside about 900 feet (275 meters) to ocean shoreline.
Ruckman told police he was driving on Ballyhoo Mountain and lost control. He told police was thrown from the truck.
Ruckman said he climbed up the steep incline, ran down the mountain road and flagged a passing motorist, who called 9-1-1.
Emergency responders approached from the mountainside and the water and were challenged by steep terrain and a lack of a landing spot on the shoreline.