A State Trooper Slammed on His Brakes and Swung a U-Turn Across the Seward Highway in Front of Him. Troopers Blamed the Drivers Behind. Depositions Showed the Academy Never Required U-Turn Training.
After trial: A pre-trial settlement, so the figure is final by construction and no cap was applied; had the case gone to verdict, the noneconomic component of a wrongful-death award would have faced the AS 09.17.010(b) cap. The $300,000 figure in the state's budget documents is ten percent of the settlement, the portion requiring legislative appropriation, and not the settlement itself. The judicial district is not named in the reporting; the crash was on the Seward Highway and the defendant is a state agency, which points to the Third Judicial District, but that is inference. Collectability: the payer is the State of Alaska and the legislature approved the appropriation; no source reports the payment itself, so the disclosure stays at not public.
Won by Banker Law Group, P.C..
On July 1, 2018 Aaron Thomas Smith of Eagle River died on the Seward Highway when Alaska State Trooper Richard Chambers, spotting a speeding car going the other way, braked hard and pulled a U-turn across the highway in front of him. Troopers first blamed vehicles following too closely. In depositions, department officials conceded U-turn training was optional at the academy and Chambers had never had any in the field. The state's own settlement memo concluded it was liable. The State of Alaska settled with his widow for $3,000,000 in 2023.
What happened
On July 1, 2018 Aaron Thomas Smith of Eagle River was driving on the Seward Highway. Alaska State Trooper Richard Chambers, headed the other way, saw a speeding car pass him. He slammed on his brakes and pulled a U-turn across the highway to go after it. Smith's vehicle hit the patrol car. Smith died.
The troopers' first account blamed the crash on vehicles following too closely.
His widow sued the Alaska Department of Public Safety in Alaska Superior Court, and the depositions took the first account apart. Department officials conceded that U-turn training is optional at the trooper academy. Chambers admitted he had never had any field training on it. A troopers captain testified that Chambers failed to consider the safety of other drivers and should have taken a few more seconds before turning around. Chambers was not disciplined afterward; he asked for desk duty.
The case went to mediation before Elaine Andrews, a retired Alaska judge, and settled before trial for $3,000,000. The Department of Law's settlement memorandum to the Office of Management and Budget, obtained by the Alaska Beacon, concluded the state was liable because of "negligence on behalf of the trooper, who was in violation of Department of Public Safety Policy."
The settlement had an unusual clause: it was conditioned on the legislature appropriating the money, and if the legislature refused it would be void and the lawsuit would revive. Only ten percent of the amount required legislative approval, which is why the state's budget documents show $300,000 while the agreement is for $3,000,000. The appropriation passed after the settlement was disclosed to the Senate Finance Committee in March 2023.
Anthony Banker of Banker Law Group in Anchorage represented Smith's widow.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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