A tragic incident occurred Wednesday morning in Phoenix when a car struck the rear of a Valley Metro bus, leading to the death of a 29-year-old woman and the arrest of the car's driver. Phoenix Police responded to the crash site at 35th Avenue and Thomas Road at approximately 9:45 a.m., as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The passenger of the vehicle, identified as Emily Alexis Analla, was hurriedly transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite efforts to save her, Analla was later pronounced dead. In an ominous twist of fate, the 23-year-old driver, Xavier Jose Manuel, displayed signs of impairment, with initial findings suggesting the car he was operating struck the bus, which had been stopped at a bus stop. Police stated that Manuel was taken to the hospital, treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and then was subsequently arrested and booked on suspicion of manslaughter, as relayed in a statement obtained by ABC15 Arizona.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Robert Scherer detailed the events, saying, "When officers arrived, they located the adult female passenger of the car involved, identified as 29-year-old Emily Analla, with serious injuries. Analla was transported to a nearby hospital, but she did not survive her injuries and was pronounced deceased." Another woman, a passenger of the bus, also sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash and received hospital treatment, according to details provided by Sgt. Scherer to FOX 10 Phoenix. They further mentioned that additional charges against Manuel are pending the results of toxicology tests and the crash investigation.
Manuel faces a grave charge of one count of manslaughter, with police also noting the likelihood of further charging decisions once toxicology results become available. The surrounding area where the crash occurred was likely to have been disrupted as the investigation unfolded.
