A mother and her 7-year-old daughter died in a car crash in Wrangell early June 11, according to the Wrangell Police Department.
Rainie Doak, 32, was driving when the vehicle veered off the road, reportedly due to accelerated driving, and flipped down an embankment. No passengers were wearing seat belts, resulting in all occupants being ejected from the vehicle. Two other girls, aged 12 and 3, were seriously injured and were flown to Seattle for medical treatment.
The crash occurred around midnight as Doak and her children were returning home from an outing. The vehicle was discovered the following evening after a cyclist spotted it off the road. Authorities arrived shortly before 6 p.m. on June 11 to find the car overturned. Emergency Medical Technicians transported the surviving children to the airport for evacuation to Seattle.
WPD Chief Doug McCloskey noted that fatal crashes are rare in Wrangell, marking only the third in 26 years with him on duty. An investigation is ongoing, with police awaiting toxicology reports from the State Medical Examiner's Office.
A GoFundMe page titled “Doak Family” has raised over $10,000 for travel, medical, and lodging expenses related to the incident.
For updates, contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow on Twitter @akmccarthy.