A man was struck and fatally injured in a late-night incident on Interstate 17 in Phoenix, triggering an investigation by local authorities. Witnesses described the man as running in and out of traffic before the collision around midnight near I-17 and 19th Avenue. As events unfolded, the pedestrian was hit by a vehicle in the #1 lane and subsequently by four others, with one driver failing to stay on the scene, according to 12News.
The identity of the pedestrian has not yet been released to the public. Responders declared the pedestrian dead at the scene. The northbound lanes of the interstate were subsequently closed, causing delays for early morning commuters. Fox10 Phoenix reported that the freeway was shut down for several hours but later reopened around 5 a.m. on Feb. 29.
Following the closure and the subsequent reopening of I-17 northbound, commuters experienced traffic snarls as a result of the earlier incident. Officials at the Department of Public Safety are collecting evidence and witness testimonies to piece together the sequence of events that led to the man's death. They urge anyone with information to come forward as they work to provide closure to a night that ended in a loss on one of Phoenix's busiest thoroughfares, as per 12News.
