Alaska State Troopers in Bethel received a call reporting a single vehicle snow machine accident along the trial from Bethel to Tuntutuliak.

It was reported that Wassilie N. Frank, age 63, from Tuntutuliak was travelling on a 1996 Poloris Snow machine and towing a sled when he impacted something along the trail and the machine rolled, throwing Frank from his machine.

Frank was travelling with another machine with two people aboard when the crash occurred at mile 6.5.

Another individual, who was a former health aide rendered assistance and performed CPR on Frank, as did a health Aide from Napakiak, they were unsuccessful however and Frank was pronounced deceased at shortly after 8 pm.

Frank’s body was transported to Anchorage to the State Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy. Frank was not wearing a helmet.

Tuntutuliak, a community of approximately 430, is on the Qinaq River, approximately 3 miles from where it meets the Kuskokwim River. 40 miles from the Bering Sea coast it is 40 miles to the Southwest of Bethel.