2 dead, 5 injured following crash involving DPS trooper

PHOENIX — Two people are dead and five others were injured following a crash involving an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper near Wickenburg on Friday night.

Around 8:30 p.m., a DPS trooper responded to a call of a disabled motorist on southbound US 93 near milepost 174. Three people inside an SUV said they were low on gas and didn’t believe they would make it to Wickenburg.

Authorities said the trooper assured the SUV occupants that they would have enough fuel and offered to follow them to Wickenburg to ensure they arrived safely.

As the trooper began to follow the SUV, another car driving northbound was seen speeding and passing vehicles in a no-passing zone, authorities said.

That vehicle hit both the SUV and the trooper’s vehicle. The SUV overturned and the trooper’s vehicle burst into flames, DPS said.

A fourth car was involved in the crash, but officials are unsure which of the other three vehicles hit it.

Occupants of the fourth car were able to pull the trooper out of the burning patrol car, which was then engulfed in flames.

One person in the speeding car died at the scene. Two other passengers inside were taken to Valley hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

One occupant of the overturned SUV died at the scene. The two other occupants were transported to Valley hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

The DPS trooper was transported by air to a Phoenix-area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Northbound US 93 at State Route 71 (milepost 183) and the southbound lanes at Interstate 40 (milepost 91) reopened around 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

UPDATE: All lanes are now open. #aztraffic #US93 https://t.co/MCMt2t7BhT

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) May 1, 2021

The identities of those involved in the crash have not been released. It is unknown at this time if impairment was a factor.

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