Wrong Way Collision Turns Fatal

Tonopah, Ariz.-Two young ladies died in a horrific collision when a wrong way driver struck them head-on. A third passenger was critically injured with life-threatening injuries. The wrong way driver also died.

Troopers first responded to a non-injury hit and run collision which occurred on eastbound Interstate 10 at Milepost 92, at about 8:45 p.m. A silver passenger car fled the scene of that collision at speeds witnesses estimated at over 100 mph. At 9:30 p.m., ADPS received calls of a wrong way driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Milepost 94. A short time later a multi-vehicle head-on collision was reported by witnesses at the same location. Upon arriving on scene, troopers confirmed the wrong way vehicle was the same that had fled from the earlier collision.

The male suspect in the wrong way vehicle died at the scene from his injuries. The female driver and female front seat passenger in the victim’s car also died at the scene. A back seat passenger in the victim’s car was critically injured and transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Impairment is a suspected factor in this collision.

The investigation is still pending and next of kin of the deceased have not been notified.

Interstate 10 westbound was closed for five hours and a number of motorists remained within the traffic back-up since there was not a place to turn vehicles around safely.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety is a state-level law enforcement agency whose mission is to protect human life and property by enforcing state laws, deterring criminal activity, ensuring highway and public safety.