Last Sunday morning on Loop 202 in East Phoenix, a series of crashes occurred following an initial accident. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, at approximately 5:20 a.m., a Dodge Durango struck a median wall near 40th Street, spun, and came to a stop facing the wrong way in the highway's center lane. The driver of the Durango left the scene.
A woman stopped on the emergency shoulder, activated her hazard lights, and exited her vehicle to check on a driver following an initial accident. During a series of collisions, another driver swerved to avoid a wrong-way-facing vehicle and struck her. "Meanwhile, another driver saw the wrong-way-facing vehicle and swerved to the right, striking the good Samaritan, who was later pronounced deceased at a local hospital," said Arizona DPS spokesperson Bart Graves, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The driver who struck her sustained injuries and was transported to the hospital. Impairment has not been ruled out.
A series of crashes occurred on Westbound Loop 202 after a tire from a Dodge Durango came loose and entered the eastbound lanes, leading to a non-injury crash. Another vehicle then struck the stationary Durango, followed by a fifth crash involving three more vehicles. No injuries were reported in these subsequent crashes, but one driver was arrested for DUI. A person assisting at the scene was fatally struck. DPS spokesperson Bart Graves stated, "All of these could have been avoided had that driver who lost the tire simply called 911 and stayed in their vehicle. And we could have gotten there quickly and stopped traffic to prevent what occurred from happening," as stated by AZFamily. Traffic was blocked for about six hours before lanes reopened.
