A tragic road incident in Phoenix claimed the lives of a young woman and an infant, leaving three other children injured. On Friday afternoon, at the bustling intersection of 19th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road, a silver sedan collided with a black pickup truck. Phoenix police confirmed to ABC15 that a 25-year-old woman and her 2-month-old child, who were in the sedan, were rushed to the hospital with critical injuries and later pronounced dead.
The victims were later identified on Saturday as Kristina Lara and her infant son, Josiah Lara. Witnesses told police that the sedan was traveling at a high speed and ran a yellow light, ultimately crashing into the pickup truck whose driver was executing a left turn. The 23-year-old man behind the wheel of the sedan was also transported to the hospital; his condition has not been disclosed. In a heart-wrenching detail, authorities informed ABC15 that the children were not in safety seats at the time of the collision.
Following the crash, the three other children in the sedan, initially listed in critical condition, have been upgraded to non-incapacitating. The elderly man driving the black pickup truck walked away unscathed, remaining at the scene as the intersection was closed in all directions to aid the investigation. "One adult female passenger was transported in critical condition to a local hospital, a young child was transported with serious injuries. Three additional children were taken to a hospital for precautionary evaluations," Phoenix Police stated in an original statement obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The Phoenix Police are continuing their investigation into the incident and indicated that charges have not been determined yet but will be decided once the crash reconstruction is completed. Despite early reports, impairment has not been cited as a contributing factor, adding a layer of complexity to the cause of the tragic event.
