A wrong-way crash on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix left one person dead and four others in the hospital on Saturday evening, according to authorities. The collision in the Tonopah area choked traffic along the rural stretch of I-10 near 339th Avenue, and two of the injured were reported in serious condition.
FOX 10 Phoenix reports that the Arizona Department of Public Safety said a wrong-way driver was heading east in the westbound lanes of I-10 just before 7 p.m. and died after crashing into another vehicle. All four people in the second vehicle were taken to a nearby hospital, with two of them suffering serious injuries. Westbound I-10 remained closed at Palo Verde on Saturday night while troopers processed the scene and investigators worked to learn why the driver was traveling into oncoming traffic.
Crash Site And Safety Work On I-10 Near Tonopah
The stretch of I-10 around 339th Avenue has seen more than its share of serious wrecks in recent years, including a late April wrong-way crash that sent three people to the hospital, according to Arizona's Family. State transportation records list several contracts and projects in the Tonopah corridor, a sign that agencies are putting money into pavement work and detection upgrades on the heavily traveled interstate west of the Valley, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Engineers in recent years have tested wrong-way detection and warning systems across Arizona in an effort to cut down on high-speed head-on crashes.
Why Wrong-Way Crashes Turn Deadly
Wrong-way crashes are especially dangerous because they so often become head-on collisions, and safety researchers say those are far more likely to kill or seriously injure people than most other crash types. The AAA Foundation notes that wrong-way incidents are relatively rare but frequently fatal because of the extreme combined speeds, and a broad review of national data shows that deadly wrong-way wrecks are concentrated on divided highways and are more likely to involve multiple deaths. Those findings help explain why troopers treat every wrong-way report as a race against the clock.
The investigation into Saturday's collision is ongoing, and anyone who may have information is urged to contact law enforcement. ADOT and its state partners are again reminding drivers to follow Arizona's ADOT "Drive Aware, Get There" advice, which urges drivers to slow down, steer away and call 911 if they see a vehicle coming toward them, in hopes of preventing more tragedies on high-speed sections of I-10.
