TUCSON, Ariz. — The driver who was killed Tuesday in a crash on Interstate 10 near Tucson has been identified as a Nevada man, officials said.
Ricky Immel, 54, died after his truck drifted into the freeway's median and rolled over, causing nitric acid to spill out of the driver's trailer. The crash resulted in hazmat teams getting called out to the site and a shelter-in-place order being implemented for most of Wednesday.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said Thursday that neither impairment nor speeding appear to be factors that caused the collision.
Immel's truck appears to have gradually drifted into the freeway's median before it crashed, DPS said.
It does not appear Immel was fatigued at the time of the crash because his travel logs show he hadn't been driving extra hours, DPS officials said.
A service dog traveling with Immel survived the crash and was returned to the driver's family. The hazardous material at the crash site has since been mitigated.
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What is the Valley?
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?:
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.