Driver in 3-vehicle wreck on I-10 west of Phoenix that killed 6 arrested
Jul 9, 2021, 10:15 AM | Updated: 11:12 am
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
PHOENIX – The driver of an SUV involved in a three-vehicle wreck on Interstate 10 west of the Phoenix area that left six people dead last week was arrested Thursday, authorities said.
Iyona Holton, 35, was booked into Maricopa County Jail on four counts of aggravated assault and one count each of drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession, according to an Arizona Department of Public Safety press release.
DPS said Holton was driving a GMC Envoy that was one of two vehicles, the other a Nissan Altima, to turn from the westbound lanes of I-10 near Tonopah through a dirt median marked as a “no U-turn” zone around 1:20 p.m on July 2.
A tractor-trailer smashed into both vehicles when they entered eastbound traffic. The impact split the Nissan in half and killed Natisha Nicole Moffett, the 35-year-old driver, and five passengers whose identities were not released.
Holton and her four children also in the GMC were all hospitalized with serious injuries. She was arrested upon her release from the hospital, DPS said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.
No other information was immediately available. The investigation is ongoing.