A driver is fighting for their life and two other people are seriously injured after a two-car crash flipped one vehicle onto its side near 47th Avenue and Buckeye Road in West Phoenix on Thursday. Firefighters had to pull the driver of the overturned car from the wreckage before rushing them to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the Phoenix Police Department. The driver and a passenger from the second vehicle were also taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The crash forced the closure of Buckeye Road in both directions in the area, and as of Thursday afternoon there was no clear timeline for when it would reopen, according to Arizona's Family. Drivers were urged to avoid the area while first responders worked the scene. The current medical conditions of the second vehicle's driver and passenger had not been released as of Thursday.
Investigators Piece Together What Happened
Investigators are still working to determine what led to the crash, and no cause has been officially confirmed.
Rollover crashes like this one carry outsized danger compared with other collision types. Statewide crash analysis found that while vehicle overturning and rollover crashes make up only about 2% of Arizona's total traffic incidents, they caused 120 fatalities statewide, a disproportionate toll tied to high impact forces, roof crush, and the difficult extrications fire crews often face, per Esquire Law.
A Corridor With a History of Severe Crashes
Buckeye Road is a West Phoenix route carrying heavy commercial traffic. An analysis of 25 years of crash data found heavy commercial trucks accounted for 23.1% of fatal collisions along the corridor, nearly triple the overall truck crash rate across Maricopa County, according to AZ Law Now. The city's Road Safety Action Plan, approved by the City Council in September 2022, created a High Injury Network that includes flagged intersections on Buckeye Road.
Even so, the intersection where Thursday's crash occurred sits within a wider pattern: a study of two years of Arizona Department of Transportation crash data across 23 Metro Phoenix cities found that 42.2% of all regional collisions happened at intersections, resulting in 426 deaths and more than 32,000 injuries, per Safe Roads AZ.
A Prior Fatal Crash in South Phoenix
Hoodline reported on a fatal crash near 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road in South Phoenix that killed a teenager and critically injured two others.
Key questions remain unresolved for now, including the updated medical conditions of the three hospitalized victims, whether toxicology results will play a role, and what official cause investigators ultimately determine once the scene investigation concludes.
