Tragedy struck on an Arizona highway early Wednesday morning when a single-vehicle accident claimed the lives of three individuals, including an infant, and sent five more to the hospital with critical injuries, as reported by 12News. The incident, which involved a pickup truck rolling multiple times on Interstate 40 near Winslow, occurred just after 7:30 a.m. at milepost 257, close to State Route 87.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) said the truck, which was traveling eastbound with eight passengers inside, veered off into the median for currently unknown reasons, thereafter, the driver's attempt to correct the truck's path resulted in it flipping over several times. The force of the crash ejected three passengers, a 4-month-old baby, a teen boy, and adult man, all of whom perished at the scene according to azfamily.com.
Following the accident, the eastbound section of I-40 was temporarily closed as emergency responders and investigators worked the scene, which was later updated by the Arizona Department of Transportation to have reopened around 8:40 a.m. In a statement obtained by azfamily.com, authorities have not excluded the possibility of impairment being a factor in the crash.
DPS is currently investigating the details surrounding the tragic occurrence and the woman driver's condition at the time of the accident. Officials have provided no further details regarding the identities of those involved, or the state of the surviving victims that were rushed to the regional hospital. The public has been asked to stay tuned as new information unfolds from this distressing episode on one of Arizona's busiest roadways.
