Mesa officer killed in wrong-way crash to be buried Friday

PHOENIX — A Mesa police officer who was killed by a wrong-way driver will be buried on Friday, police said.

Officer Brandon Mendoza, 32, was on his way home around 12:30 a.m. when the accident occurred on westbound U.S. 60 and Interstate 10.

A viewing will be led Thursday evening and a 10 a.m. mass Friday at the All Saints Catholic Church at 1534 N. Recker Road. Following mass, a procession will take Mendoza to the Queen of Heaven Cemetery at 1562 E. Baseline Road.

The procession will take the following route and is expected to take 45 minutes to one hour:

• Depart All Saints Catholic Church going southbound on Recker.
• Turn west on Brown to Higley.
• Turn south on Higley to Baseline.
• Turn west on Baseline to Harris.
• Turn north on Harris to cemetery.

During the service and procession, the following roads will be closed at the following approximate times. Drivers are urged to avoid the area while the closures are in effect.

• Mclellan will be closed between Recker and 59th Street from 6 a.m. to noon.
• Southbound Recker at Mclellan will be closed from 10 a.m. to noon.
• Westbound Baseline to Stapley will be closed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
&$139; Harris will be closed from Baseline to Juanita from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.