Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway reopens after deadly wrong-way crash

PHOENIX – The westbound Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway was temporarily closed early Monday after a fatal wrong-way crash near the Tempe-Phoenix border, authorities said.

One person was killed in the collision west of Priest Drive, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS).

All westbound Loop 202 traffic had to exit at State Route 143 while the closure was in effect, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT announced just after 7 a.m. that Loop 202 reopened.

How did fatal wrong-way crash on Loop 202 happen?

The incident started just after midnight when a Subaru SUV was spotted traveling east in the westbound lanes of Loop 202 near 24th Street, DPS said.

The SUV sideswiped a Hyundai passenger vehicle before crashing head-on into a Kia passenger vehicle and rolling over onto its roof. The driver of the Kia was pronounced dead at the scene, DPS said.

The SUV driver was hospitalized for injuries that aren’t considered life-threatening. Authorities suspect that impairment was a factor in the wrong-way crash.

The driver of the Hyundai fled the scene and left the vehicle abandoned in the median near where the crash occurred.

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