Soldier, 29, dies after suspected drunken driver hits him with vehicle outside of Army fort

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - A 29-year-old soldier was hit and killed by an alleged drunken driver at the main gate of an Army installation in Alaska.

According to Fairbanks police, the crash occurred just after 5 p.m. on Monday and involved three vehicles just outside the Gaffney Road Gate at Fort Wainwright.

Officials with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson said Pfc. Arturo Alejandro Gomez, a resident of Provo, Utah, was working at the gate when the crash occurred.

According to police, several military personnel had rifles pointed at a Toyota 4Runner when officers arrived.

There was significant damage done to the vehicle and Gomez was lying on the ground behind it. Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities identified the SUV’s driver as 31-year-old Brianna Raquel Lapp.

Fairbanks police said Lapp was traveling northbound on Richardson Highway when she hit a vehicle, drove into a ditch, and struck another car before continuing toward Fort Wainwright’s entrance at a high rate of speed.

“There was a soldier out doing a security check for the entrance and it appears he saw the vehicle coming, tried to avoid it but was run over,” Fairbanks Police Chief Ron Dupee said.

According to Dupee, Lapp failed her field sobriety test, and her blood alcohol level was shown to be almost four times the legal limit.

“She asked several times during the processing if she had hurt anybody and it wasn’t until officers ended up telling her that she had killed somebody, that she seemed remorseful,” Dupee said.

Lapp was arrested and is facing a DUI charge along with second-degree murder.

“It’s just a senseless act that didn’t have to happen,” Dupee said. “She didn’t need to be driving. There’s no reason for anybody to be driving drunk and we as a society shouldn’t be putting up with it.”

Officials at the base said Gomez was an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division.

The 29-year-old joined the U.S. Army last July and trained in Fort Moore, Georgia, before arriving in Alaska in February.

“Gomez showed great promise in his short time in the Arctic Wolves,” Col. Christopher Brawley said. “The loss of Pfc. Gomez has had a devastating impact on the unit. We are doing our best to support his family, friends and fellow soldiers in the aftermath of this tragic and senseless incident.”