1 dead, 2 children injured after 3-vehicle crash in Phoenix on New Year’s Day
Jan 2, 2023, 12:00 PM
(Photo by Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
(Photo by Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
PHOENIX — A 72-year-old woman is dead and two children were seriously injured after a three-vehicle crash in Phoenix on New Year’s Day, authorities said.
Officers responded to the crash around 3:40 p.m. near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road and found Faila Butunga with life-threatening injuries, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.
Butunga was taken to a hospital where she died, fire personnel said. Two children in the same vehicle as Butunga were also taken to hospitals with serious injuries.
Authorities said the primary vehicle, which was driven by a man, was driving southbound on 51st Avenue when it drifted into the northbound lane and struck a car driven by a teenage boy.
The crash caused a third vehicle, which was driven by a woman, to strike the teen’s car before it came to a rest.
Butunga and the children were passengers in the primary vehicle involved in the crash.
There were no signs of intoxication suspected by any of the drivers and weather is believed to be a factor in the crash.
The current conditions of the children have not been released.
No additional information was available.
