The criminal case involving a fatal 2019 car crash on Unalaska’s Mount Ballyhoo will go to trial next month, for the second time.
In April, a group of Anchorage jurors was unable to come to a unanimous decision in the six-year-long homicide case against 24-year-old Dustin Ruckman.
Following the mistrial, Ruckman will once again face a jury in Anchorage for two counts of homicide for his involvement in the death of two Unalaska teen girls.
In May of 2019, when Ruckman was 18, he drove his truck up the popular local mountain with his 16-year-old girlfriend at the time, Karly McDonald, and their friend Kiara Renteria Haist, 18.
The two girls died after the truck plummeted about 900 feet down the north side of the mountain. They were ejected as it fell. According to the Unalaska Department of Public Safety, Ruckman claimed he was thrown from the vehicle as it descended, sustaining some minor injuries.
Jurors deliberated for about three days and concluded in a deadlock, after hearing from experts, witnesses and friends of the victims.
A new group of jurors will be selected early next month to decide whether or not Ruckman is guilty of the charges. The court originally set a tentative trial date for April of next year. That was pushed up to this fall and then postponed by about a week because Ruckman’s attorney, Julia Moudy, experienced a death in her family.
Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore will represent the state, replacing Patrick McKay Jr., who is now a district court judge in Palmer.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews will oversee the trial.
Jury selection is expected to last about a day and is set to begin Nov. 10.
