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A Facebook post from Vitello’s team describes the incident.

“When the team was running a straightaway stretch in broad daylight a snowmobile came down the trail recklessly driving and clipped one of the dogs on the team,” it says. “Bailey did everything in his power to try to gain the attention of the driver whom tried to continue down the trail after hitting said dog.”

The post said Vitello was able to confront the snowmachiner, get information about who they were and then contacted officials. It said the musher put the dog, named Oak, in his sled bag to transport it to the next checkpoint, where the veterinarians gave Oak “a clean bill of health.”

“We were the lucky ones on this day and many teams this year haven’t been so fortunate,” the post said.

...

Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said investigators on Wednesday were able to identify and track down the snowmachiner who hit Vitello’s team.

“Ultimately any criminal charges in this incident will be determined in coordination with our partners at the Alaska Department of Law as the misdemeanor occurred outside of the presence of a law enforcement officer,” he said in an email.

It's really hard to understand how it can happen at all..