Wrong-way driver killed in wreck on I-17 in Phoenix
Jun 1, 2017, 6:40 AM | Updated: 11:48 am
(Twitter Photo)
PHOENIX — One person was killed in a wrong-way wreck early Thursday morning on a Phoenix freeway.
The crash closed northbound Interstate 17 at Interstate 10 to McDowell Road. Authorities said the wrong-way driver died but the driver he crashed into avoided injury.
Wrong-Way Fatal Crash Along I17 at the Stack. Click here for updates: https://t.co/Gdyl4IuQNV pic.twitter.com/gIWFHNNrCn
— Dept. Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) June 1, 2017
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the wrong-way driver smashed head-on into a tanker truck on the ramp. The cab of the tanker ignited while the other car went airborne before it dropped about 60 feet to the asphalt below.
The closure included the ramps from I-10 East and West to I-17 North.
CLOSED: I-17 NB from the I-17 Stack to McDowell because of a crash, including ramps from I-10 EB and WB to I-17 NB. #PhxTraffic pic.twitter.com/uYhf09hDJ7
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) June 1, 2017
By 6:30 a.m. authorities reopened I-17 North.
DPS said it began fielding calls about a driver going the wrong way on the freeway around 2:45 a.m.
It was the second wrong-way accident of the week. A driver heading into traffic on U.S. 60 West hit five vehicles Monday night before being stopped by highway troopers.