A second trial over a wreck in Unalaska that killed two teenage girls in 2019 has been postponed to March, after new evidence came to light this week in an Anchorage courtroom.
Twenty-five-year-old Dustin Ruckman faces two counts of criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of 16-year-old Karly McDonald and 18-year-old Kiara Renteria Haist. The two teenagers were passengers in a truck, with Ruckman behind the wheel, when it plummeted down Mount Ballyhoo, killing McDonald and Renteria Haist.
Ruckman’s first trial, which was moved to Anchorage due to a lack of impartial jurors in Unalaska, ended in a mistrial earlier this year.
A new trial was set to begin this month, again in Anchorage, but new photos and video that the lead investigator found on her personal cellphone presented another curveball in the case.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews said in court Wednesday that questions about the newly discovered evidence warrant more time for attorneys to consider before moving to trial.
“I think I can speak for everybody in the court. We have all learned information over the course of two days in this evidentiary hearing that was not known previously,” he said. “I think there are extraordinary circumstances.”
Matthews plans to also rule on a defense motion to dismiss the indictment against Ruckman on Monday.
Challenges and setbacks have plagued the case for years, including COVID-19 restrictions, postponements due to Ruckman’s original defense attorney undergoing cancer treatment and an earlier judge overseeing the case recusing himself.
For now, the trial is scheduled to resume March 9, 2026.
