Man accused of fatally stabbing woman after car crash on freeway

PHOENIX — A Phoenix man has been accused of fatally stabbing a woman after being involved in a car crash Friday on a Valley freeway.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, 25-year-old Fernando Acosta was arrested Friday night in connection to a stabbing that occurred on the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway near the Thunderbird Road off-ramp in Peoria.

Acosta was booked into jail on first degree murder and aggravated assault.

The 25-year-old and the woman, who has been identified as Martha Thy of Spring Valley, California, were both occupants in the vehicle that crashed Friday morning.

DPS Trooper Kameron Lee said witnesses saw a man stabbing a woman inside the car and on the ground outside of it after the crash.

The car went off the road, crashed through the canal, drove up and hit a fence, Lee said.

It was unknown what started the altercation.

Officers with the Peoria Police Department and bystanders detained Acosta while troopers responded to the scene.

Acosta and Thy were taken to separate hospitals, and Thy died of her wounds.

The relationship between them was not immediately known.

Authorities were also looking into claims of a shooting that may have been related to the incident.

“This is going to be a long, drawn-out process,” Lee said.

Court records don’t list an attorney who could comment on Acosta’s behalf regarding the allegations.

The northbound lanes of the the Loop 101 were closed from Peoria Avenue to Thunderbird Road around 7:30 a.m. It wasn’t reopened until after 3:30 p.m.

The southbound lanes were unaffected.

CLOSED: L-101 Agua Fria northbound from Peoria to Thunderbird because of police activity. Traffic can reenter at Thunderbird. No estimated time to reopen. #PhxTraffic pic.twitter.com/6yB6fafGlp

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) March 22, 2019

NB 101 Agua Fria now closed for a crash from Peoria to Thunderbird, looks like this crash extended to the canal just east of the freeway as police tape is strung across the canal there, no estimated time of re-opening. pic.twitter.com/vtRSf23I59

— Detour Dan (@DetourDanKTAR) March 22, 2019

Another freeway in metro Phoenix saw an accident early Friday.

According to ABC15, there was a fatal accident on Interstate 10 near 67th Avenue.

Tuff traffic morning, NB 101 Agua Fria closed from Peoria north up to Thunderbird, EB I-10 frontage Rd, closed from 59th Ave to 51st Ave for a fatal motorcycle wreck, Ironwood and Baseline crash has SB and EB closed for a collision.

— Detour Dan (@DetourDanKTAR) March 22, 2019

The Associated Press contributed to the this story.

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