DPS: Driver was drunk in crash that killed Mesa officer

PHOENIX — A man who drove 35 miles on the wrong side of the road and killed an off-duty Mesa police officer was drunk, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said Thursday.

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.

DPS Officer Carrick Cook said the man that hit him, 42-year-old Raul Silva Corona, had a blood-alcohol level of .238 at the time of the collision, more than three times the legal limit in Arizona.

Mendoza will be buried Friday in Mesa. Several streets will be closed for both the service and procession.