Charges against the young man involved in a fatal 2019 Unalaska car crash have been reduced, more than four years after he was originally indicted.
Dustin Ruckman, who is now 23 years old, was originally charged in 2020 with two counts of manslaughter, two counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of reckless driving. He now faces just two counts of criminally negligent homicide.
The case stems from an incident in May of 2019. According to police, Ruckman, a high schooler at the time, was driving his truck on Unalaska’s Mount Ballyhoo when it plummeted down the side of the mountain.
Ruckman told police he was thrown from the truck. Two high school girls, Karly McDonald and Kiara R. Haist, were in the vehicle when it fell nearly 900 feet down the cliff. They both died in the crash.
More than once Ruckman was set to face trial, but delays and changes in the case have postponed jury selection several times. After the court agreed to dismiss the original indictment last month, Ruckman’s trial date was again rescheduled, and this time, he faces fewer charges.
Ruckman’s lawyer, Julia Moudy, filed a motion in July to dismiss the original indictment on various grounds, including concerns about expert testimony. The defense argued in the motion that the state’s former expert testimony exceeded the scope of his expertise.
The state’s prosecutor, Patrick McKay Jr., eventually agreed to the defense’s motion to dismiss charges in late August. A grand jury then reindicted Ruckman with two counts of criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony.
At a status hearing in October, Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews scheduled a new trial to start in March in Unalaska. Ruckman’s attorney told the court she plans to issue a motion to change the venue. Her previous motions to move the trial to Anchorage have been denied, but the judge told the court he would entertain further requests.
The court will have to select jurors from a new pool of Unalaskans because the trial is set to take place in the next calendar year.
At a recent bail hearing, Judge Matthews granted Ruckman’s request to leave Alaska to visit family. The conditions of Ruckman’s bail don’t allow him to leave the state.
The next status hearing is set for Dec. 5.
