Driver accused of fleeing traffic stop in Chandler dies in fiery Mesa crash

PHOENIX — A driver died early Sunday after fleeing a traffic stop in Chandler and crashing on State Route 87 in Mesa, authorities said.

Mesa police responded at 3:22 a.m. to a single-vehicle crash near Country Club Drive and Baseline Road. The vehicle was “fully engulfed in flames” by the time Mesa authorities responded. The driver, 32-hear-old Jesus Alejandro Alcantar Vazquez of Tempe, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minutes earlier, Chandler police had attempted to stop the vehicle about 5 to 6 miles south on suspicion of impairment, said Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Raul Garcia. The driver fled north on SR 87, also known as Country Club Drive.

A second Chandler officer positioned about 1 mile north of that attempted stop reported the vehicle passing at more than 100 mph, Garcia said. Moments later, multiple 911 callers reported seeing the burning wreckage.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Vehicular Crimes Unit is leading an investigation.

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