PHOENIX — Two people have died and one is in the hospital after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 17 in Phoenix Thursday morning.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. in the northbound lanes near Adams Street.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Dos personas murieron en un accidente brutal en la I-17 en Phoenix y una más resultó gravemente herida
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a 23-year-old woman was driving in the wrong lane and struck another car. The wrong-way driver was killed in the crash and has been identified as Maria Delrefugio Vazquez of Glendale, DPS said.
DPS said two people in the second vehicle, a man and a woman, were seriously injured. The 29-year-old woman later died at the hospital and has been identified as Dayana Viola Aguilar.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said thermal cameras along I-17 detected the wrong-way driver near Bethany Home Road and prompted "Wrong-Way Vehicle Ahead" alerts on its message boards above the freeway prior to the crash.
DPS Sgt. Eric Andrews said drivers who see that message should always move over to the far-right lanes and exit the freeway as soon as possible.
“It’s difficult. I, myself, have stopped a wrong-way vehicle, and it’s difficult to be able to see and have your brain put that puzzle together so quickly," Andrews said. “A majority [of wrong-way crashes] do take place in the left lanes and very late at night, very early morning hours.”
ADOT recorded 126 wrong-way incidents in 2023, including 13 that ended in deadly crashes.
“This is not a problem we are going to be able to enforce out of, or arrest our way out of, or ADOT can engineer their way out of," Andrews said.
Along with thermal cameras, ADOT said it installed hundreds of wrong-way signs and raised pavement markers with reflectors that glow red toward cars driving the wrong way.
ADOT noted this technology cannot stop someone from becoming a wrong-way driver, most of who are impaired.
“This isn’t going to stop until society takes responsibility for their actions while they’re drinking and make that conscious decision to take a ride share, to take public transportation, to ask a friend for a ride, to stay somewhere overnight, but as long as they’re making a decision to be impaired and drive, this is always going to happen," Andrews said.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner will determine if the driver in this crash was impaired.
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Deaths on Arizona roads
Data from the Arizona Department of Transportation shows that roadway fatalities have been gradually rising in Arizona over the last decade:
2011: 825 deaths
2012: 821 deaths
2013: 844 deaths
2014: 774 deaths
2015: 895 deaths
2016: 952 deaths
2017: 1,000 deaths
2018: 1,010 deaths
2019: 982 deaths
2020: 1,057 deaths
ADOT offers driving tips on its website to help keep people safe on the road.
"There’s always room for improvement when it comes to road safety," the department said on its website.
ADOT's suggestions include:
Don’t speed or drive aggressively
Never drive while under the influence of substances
Avoid distractions while driving
Wear your seatbelt and make sure all passengers are doing the same
When an emergency vehicle is on the side of the road, move over
Stay extra aware in work zones
Be prepared for weather conditions that make driving dangerous
"Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, by calling 511, downloading the AZ 511 app and through ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT," the department said.