Arizona mother describes her trauma after surviving fiery freeway crash in Mesa

PHOENIX — Aymee Ruiz said she’s still recovering from the fiery, seven-vehicle crash that threw traffic on US 60 in the East Valley into chaos on Tuesday morning.

Ruiz was driving a pickup truck after dropping her kids off to school when a cement mixer rear-ended her vehicle, triggering a rollover crash that left her trapped in the burning vehicle.

Physical pain, bruises and burn blisters remind her of the traumatic collision, which took place when she was stopped in congested traffic near Val Vista Drive in Mesa.

Arizona mother who survived fiery crash on US 60 shares story

“I just look in the rearview mirror, and I saw the truck coming really fast, really quick,” Ruiz KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Thursday. “There’s just no time to react then and there. I knew I was going to be hit and I just closed my eyes.”

She thought she was going to die. After the fiery crash on US 60, she was trapped on her side, struggling to come to grips with what had happened. Her first instinct was to call her husband and tell him she’d just been in a crash.

“As the phone’s ringing and he answers, I let him know I was just in an accident, and right then and there I notice the fire and I just immediately start panicking,” Ruiz said. “He said it was a seven-minute call log, me, trapped in there, screaming for my life.”

She was panicking, kicking and calling for help. At one point, she dropped her phone.

“I wasn’t able to open the door, and I was way too weak to even try and break that window,” Ruiz said. “I knew with my own strength, I wasn’t going to be able to.”

🚨 Courage in Action 🚨
Chandler Police Motor Officer Brian Larison didn’t hesitate when he saw a woman trapped in a burning vehicle on U.S. 60 near Val Vista. Just before 7 a.m., he came upon the crash, broke the window with his baton, and—with the help of an off-duty Peoria… pic.twitter.com/2LSoYhy6R0

— Chandler Police (@ChandlerPolice) February 19, 2025

That’s when a Chandler police officer and off-duty Peoria firefighter came to the rescue. Officer Brian Larison broke open the truck’s window, and Peoria firefighter-paramedic Asa Paguia pulled Ruiz from the burning wreckage.

What happened after woman pulled from fiery crash on US 60?

Ruiz said she was feeling extremely weak during the rescue. There was still smoke in her lungs.

“Once they got me to the side of the road, that’s when I was slowly waking up and saw the truck completely engulfed — fire out the windows, just everything — and that’s when you start to hear the pops and everything, and you start to see sparks,” Ruiz said. “It was insane.”

She’s been losing sleep, experiencing nightmares and suffering from anxiety in the days since the crash.

“We have a long healing journey ahead, more mental and physical,” Ruiz said. “It’s definitely going to take time for me.”

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