Wrong-way crash on State Route 51 kills two, closes south lanes
Jun 6, 2017, 8:34 PM | Updated: Jun 7, 2017, 5:23 pm
(Arizona Department of Public Safety Photo)
(Arizona Department of Public Safety Photo)
PHOENIX — A wrong-way crash on State Route 51 southbound has killed two and injured a third person Tuesday night.
The highway was closed at the transition ramp to Interstate 10 eastbound, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation and Phoenix Fire Department.
Authorities said two vehicles collided on a ramp and a third vehicle was caught up in the aftermath.
Arizona Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday that one of the two males killed in the crash was 54-year-old Young Lee from Phoenix.
Slowing starts at McDowell: SR 51 SB is CLOSED at I-10 EB due to a crash. All traffic exits to I-10 westbound or L-202. #PhxTraffic pic.twitter.com/h8ci8Srbcp
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) June 7, 2017
The third driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
All traffic was forced to exit to westbound I-10 or Loop 202. The lanes reopened Wednesday around 4 a.m.
REOPENED Update: SR-51 southbound at I-10 Mini-Stack:
All lanes have been reopened. #PhxTraffic— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) June 7, 2017
Just last week, a Phoenix man was killed in a wrong-way freeway accident in the early hours.
Driving against traffic on Interstate 17 in Phoenix near the I-10 stack, the man crashed head-on into a tanker truck on the ramp. The car skidded off the truck and fell on to the ramp below.
Last year, the Arizona Department of Public Safety handled more than 1,600 reports of wrong-way drivers.
In a partial statement Wednesday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said, “I want all Arizonans to know the state takes this issue extremely seriously. Our goal is to reduce fatalities and save lives, and we will take every appropriate measure in order to do so.”
