A red Corvette seen after the deadly crash (AZ Family/screengrab), Rachel Berg (left inset) in a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office mug shot, Michael Clark (inset right) (Facebook/Laura Clark)
A former police officer and current park ranger was tragically rear-ended and killed in an HOV lane by an 18-year-old Corvette driver who was driving at 155 mph just moments before the fatal Arizona accident two weeks ago, authorities say.
Rachel Nicole Berg now faces a charge of reckless manslaughter for her alleged role in the crash that took place near Dobson late at night on March 12, resulting in the death of 46-year-old Michael Paul Clark as he was riding home from work on his Harley Davidson. AZ Family reported that the collision caused the motorcyclist to be thrown off his Harley and into a concrete wall on the highway.
Berg reportedly claimed that she tried to slow down before the impact, and authorities stated in court documents that crash data supported her statement. The report said that speed data from the Corvette indicated that Berg applied the brakes just five seconds before the collision, reducing her speed from 155 mph to 87 mph, but it was ineffective.
As per his obituary, Clark was on his way home from work when he was rear-ended and killed. A former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, a former police officer in Washington State, and park ranger in Arizona with an RV repair business, the
“devoted” husband and father is survived by his wife and two adult children, his two siblings, and his parents, Clark’s family said.
Laura Clark shared images of her husband and a death announcement from the Tacoma Police Department, where Clark was employed for over 14 years until 2021. Law enforcement in Washington State provided their understanding of the case: The park ranger left work around 11 p.m. and was driving in the HOV lane on U.S. Route 60 when he was fatally rear-ended.
Laura Clark responded to the collision in an AZFamily interview on Wednesday, expressing that “young people sometimes think that they’re invincible” and “don’t think their decisions through,” occasionally leading to “devastating” outcomes.
“He has kids that now don’t have a dad. The devastation is real and I don’t know how we will ever recover from it,” Michael Clark’s grieving wife said. “I don’t know how we ever put one foot in front of the other again.”
Laura mentioned that she suspected something was amiss when she heard a police helicopter nearby. Michael did not pick up her call and did not read a text she sent, she stated.
“He loved being a father to his kids and he was an amazing husband,” Laura said.
In Arizona, An individual can be charged with manslaughter in several ways, but in this situation, Berg is accused of “recklessly causing the death of another person.” Here, the accusation is that Berg was driving recklessly at 155 mph — and at 87 mph at the time of the collision with Clark — at night, resulting in the victim’s death.
If Berg is found guilty as charged as a first-time offender, she would potentially face a sentence ranging from 7 to 21 years in prison. It’s unknown if she has a lawyer at this time.
Maricopa County jail records, which Law&Crime reviewed, indicate that Berg was arrested on the homicide charge on Monday.