Wrong-way driver hits 2 cars on Interstate 17, kills 1
Jan 27, 2015, 4:08 PM | Updated: Jan 28, 2015, 5:24 pm
PHOENIX — A wrong-way driver hit two cars on a Phoenix freeway late Monday, injuring two people and killing another.
Megan Lange, a Phoenix Fire Department dispatcher, died from her injuries Tuesday afternoon. The mother of two joined the department in 2009.
The accident closed Interstate 17 North at Camelback Road overnight and finally reopened around 8 a.m. Tuesday.
A Department of Public Safety spokesman said an SUV entered the freeway at Glendale Avenue around 11 p.m., heading south in northbound lanes. The driver, 39-year-old Stephen B. Martin, went about mile.
An officer tried to stop Martin, nearly getting hit. Instead, Martin’s SUV swerved and hit the two other cars.
Reminder that I-17 North is closed at Camelback because of an overnight crash. Re-opens at Bethany Home. No ETA for opening. Avoid the area.
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) January 27, 2015
Martin, a passenger and another driver were not seriously hurt.
Martin had a blood-alcohol level of .313, nearly four times the legal limit. He told police he was “too drunk to drive” but had to get home because his girlfriend was being sexually assaulted.
Officers estimated Martin was traveling at 50-55 mph. A female passenger, Kimberly Gumo, said Martin was driving about 40-45 mph.
Lange is survived by her husband, Patrick, and her two sons. To celebrate her memory, friends and family are asking others to turn on their lights Jan. 30.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist her family.
KTAR’s Jim Cross Contributed to this report.
