A soldier was killed at the main gate at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Monday after an alleged drunk driver plowed into them with an SUV late that afternoon, according to local police. The main gate was subsequently shut down.
The soldier has not been identified, pending the notification of the next of kin, an Army spokesperson told Military.com. Brianna Lapp, 31, was arrested and faces charges related to driving under the influence and manslaughter.
Lapp seemingly had no relationship to the installation and allegedly collided with two vehicles and a fence outside the gate; she also had a blood alcohol level of 0.299, more than three times the legal limit, according to a law enforcement spokesperson.
"Our hearts go out to the victim's family and all his colleagues and friends on Fort [Wainwright] impacted by this senseless tragedy," the Fairbanks Police Department said in a statement.
Alaska has the 10th highest prevalence for binge drinking in the country, according to state data. Some of that is attributed to the weather and many places being remote, keeping people at home with less access to activities.
Last year, in an unrelated incident, a soldier at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, Pfc. Andy Ramos, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a drunken-driving collision that killed Pfc. Arath Esau Martinez-Arguelles. Ramos pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and was dishonorably discharged.
Drinking issues have become such a concern in Alaska that both Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in 2021 barred on-base alcohol sales between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The following year, Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, then the commander of the 11th Airborne Division, issued a set of policies that any unit under his command would earn a day off if that entire unit remained DUI-free for 90 days.
The services have also seen a string of incidents at its gates in recent years.
In October, Air Force security personnel fired shots at a driver who breached the main entry point for Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis in Texas. In December 2019, Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Oscar Jesus Temores, 23, a sailor, was killed when a driver smashed into his patrol car at the gate at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia.
In September, The Wall Street Journal reported there have been as many as 100 incidents of Chinese nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, trying to gain access to military installations and other government property to take photos.
Fort Wainwright is home to the Army's 11th Airborne Division; some 6,700 soldiers are stationed there.
