Northbound State Route 87 reopened after hit-and-run collision, shooting

PHOENIX – A stretch of highway north of Mesa was closed Wednesday for about five hours while authorities searched for a suspect in a hit-and-run collision and shooting.

Northbound State Route 87 was closed from Gilbert Road to just south of Shea Boulevard near Fountain Hills, on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community territory, around noon.

The highway reopened around 5 p.m. The southbound lanes were not affected.

What led up to closure of State Route 87?

The incident started with a hit-and-run collision on the Loop 202 Pima Freeway near Scottsdale Road, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The other driver involved followed the hit-and-run vehicle to SR 87, which is also known as the Beeline Highway.

Somebody from the suspect vehicle shot at the victim near McDowell Road, but nobody was hit, DPS said.

The suspect vehicle drove off and stopped about a mile south of Shea Boulevard, at which point the occupants fled into the desert on foot, DPS said.

The highway was closed to facilitate the search.

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