Black ice was reported as the cause of two separate rollovers in four hours on the Richardson Highway on Sunday, troopers report.

At 11:48 am, troopers responded to milepost 313.5 of the Richardson Highway for a single vehicle rollover. The trooper investigation revealed that 29-year-old Ilya Lukinov of Delta Junction was traveling northbound in his 2005 Ford Expedition while towing a single place trailer. As he traveled north on the highway, he encountered black ice, lost control of his vehicle and rolled. No one was injured in the incident.

Approximately four hours later, at 3:46 pm, while traveling southbound at milepost 301.5, 18-year-old Fairbanks resident Mariah Groppel, encountered black ice, and as a result, lost control of her vehicle as well. Her 2002 Suzuki SUV also rolled. Groppel suffered minor injuries subsequent to the wreck, but refused transport.

Both vehicles in the incidences were towed from the scenes.

Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a thin coating of transparent ice on a road or other surface. Its low noticeablity can cause a risk of skidding out of control and result in accidents when conditions drop below freezing after drizzle or light rain. Black ice can also be formed by the vapor from vehicle exhaust. Black ice is many times the cause of wintertime accidents on Alaska’s road systems.

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  Alaska, black ice, ilya lukinov, mariah groppel, richardson highway, rollover