Provo soldier tragically killed by alleged Alaskan drunk driver at Fort Wainwright

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) -- A Provo soldier was tragically killed by an alleged drunk driver while serving at Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Pfc. Arturo Alejandro Gomez, 29, of Provo, Utah, was an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division. The Fairbanks Police Department said he had joined the Army in July 2023 and trained at Ft. Moore, Georgia before being assigned to Alaska in February.

Gomez was working as a gate guard at the Ft. Waitwright main gate on Monday, July 22, when he was struck by the suspect, identified as Brianna Raquel Lapp, 31.

Police say Lapp had been driving at a "high rate of speed," through intersections, ditches, and over medians. She allegedly struck two cars and a traffic control sign before driving toward a construction area near the Fort's visitors center. She then drove through a portion of the fence and continued before she struck Gomez.

Multiple witnesses reported that Gomez had attempted to run out of the way to avoid being struck.

“The death of th...