5 injured in wrong-way crash on Interstate 17 in Phoenix

PHOENIX – Five people were injured, three seriously, when a wrong-way driver smashed into three vehicles on Interstate 17 in Phoenix on Monday night, authorities said.

The driver, identified only as a 40-year-old man from Cave Creek, suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

He was driving a black Dodge sedan and is believed to have been impaired by drugs, DPS said.

DPS expects the man to be hospitalized for an extended time.

I-17 SB just before the Thomas Road exit: All lanes blocked due to a serious crash. #PhxTraffic pic.twitter.com/hKub8VtDrk

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) October 1, 2019

Four people in the other vehicles — the three drivers and one passenger — were also hospitalized, two with serious injuries.

Reports of a driver heading northbound on southbound I-17 near Jefferson Street started about 9:30 p.m., DPS said.

The accident occurred near the Thomas Road exit and shut down southbound traffic from around 9:40 p.m. until 2 a.m.

According to DPS, troopers had responded to 42 wrong-way collisions as of Sept. 9.

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