SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A wrong-way driver caused multiple crashes on Loop 101 in Scottsdale Wednesday afternoon while fleeing from a DPS trooper, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
DPS said a total of six vehicles, including the suspect's vehicle, were involved in the incident.
Multiple people were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious. Among the injured were four people in the other cars and two people in the suspect's vehicle, a driver and a passenger.
All the injured parties were treated and released at local hospitals, DPS said.
DPS said the incident began when a trooper observed a driver engaging in a traffic violation on Loop 101 and attempted to pull over the vehicle.
The driver, who has been identified as 52-year-old Adam Christopher Wanko, sped away as the trooper attempted to perform the traffic stop, with the trooper following in pursuit.
The trooper attempted to use a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle but it spun the vehicle around. The driver continued to flee, this time driving the wrong way, into oncoming traffic. It then crashed, ending the pursuit.
"Wanko intentionally drove the wrong way, traveling southbound in the northbound traffic lanes, endangering the lives of every other motorist on the roadway," DPS wrote in a statement.
12News reporter Joe Dana's son, Easton Dana, was sitting in stop and and go traffic on the Loop 101 when he saw the pick-up truck driving straight at him.
"I quickly swerved out of the way and vroom! The truck just blew right past me," Easton Dana said. "The cars were splitting like the red seas as the truck was zooming through."
Now more than 24 hours later, Easton Dana said he still can't believe what he witnessed.
"I was kind of just shocked. it was something I did not expect," Easton Dana said.
Video from Sky12 showed several crashed vehicles and what appeared to be a head-on collision. One of the cars turned over onto its roof.
DPS said Wanko has been booked into jail for charges of unlawful flight and endangerment. The passenger in Wanko's car was released without charges.
This is a developing story; additional details will be added as they become available.
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