Driver arrested after wrong-way crash on Loop 202 in Mesa injures 3

PHOENIX – A man was arrested for allegedly causing a wrong-way accident on a Phoenix freeway that injured three people early Thursday.

Trooper Vanessa Sevilla with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said 38-year-old Steven Ramirez was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated DUI.

The Sierra Vista man was heading south on northbound Loop 202 around 3 a.m. in a blue pickup truck when he sideswiped a white passenger car carrying three people.

The pickup truck “went into the median and struck the cable barriers,” Capt. Jesse Galvez told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

The vehicles ended up about a quarter-mile apart.

The wreck near Baseline Road shut down the Mesa lanes for a few hours.

All the occupants of the second vehicle were taken to the hospital; their injuries weren’t life-threatening.

CLOSURE ALERT * L-202 NB near Baseline: Traffic is being diverted Guadalupe due to a crash. #phxtraffic pic.twitter.com/N8gdvAbFQM

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) April 25, 2019

Ramirez was also taken to the hospital. Court documents said the officer who responded to the scene observed alcohol on his breath. He also had bloodshot eyes.

The lanes reopened around 6:40 a.m.

Ramirez will appear in court next May 2.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Madison Spence contributed to this report.

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