Driver charged with manslaughter after head-on crash kills 4 on SR 260 near Heber
Two adults and two young children from the Valley died in the crash. Two other occupants were flown to Phoenix-area hospitals with serious injuries.
Four people are dead and two are in the hospital after a head-on collision on State Route 260 near Heber on Monday afternoon, authorities said. (Photo via Forest Lakes Fire District on Facebook)
(Photo via Forest Lakes Fire District on Facebook)
Four people, including two young children, are dead and a New Mexico man has been charged after a head-on collision on State Route 260 near Heber on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety identified the victims as Giovanni Uballe Huerta, 26, of Laveen, and Kiah Jae Begaye, 26, of Mesa, along with a 4-year-old child and a 2-year-old child, both from Mesa. All four were traveling in a black passenger vehicle.
Jesse David Lovato, 21, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, was driving the pickup truck involved in the crash and was booked into the Navajo County Detention Center in Holbrook on four counts of manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault.
DPS said the charges are preliminary and additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.
Two other occupants of the pickup, a 14-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman, both from New Mexico, were flown to Phoenix-area hospitals with serious injuries.
The Forest Lakes Fire District said the crash occurred about two miles west of Heber.
Traffic was alternating in the westbound lane of SR 260, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Motorists were advised to expect delays as it was unknown when the highway would fully reopen.
KTAR News editor David Iversen contributed to this report.
This is an updated version of a story originally published on Sept. 7, 2026.
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Comments
2 Comments
Respectfully disagree. If people would simply pay attention to their driving, there would be a lot less carnage. What do you want to bet he was either drunk or texting?
UPDATE: He fell asleep. Now his life and four others is over.
Nothing to see here; this is just a daily cost of America's chosen transit system. There are better ways to get around, but big business couldn't make enough money on repairs, insurance, oversized roads and trucks masquerading as passenger vehicles without forcing every man woman and child to buy and maintain an automobile.