PHOENIX — Three people are dead after an SUV collided with a tractor-trailer after not yielding to Arizona state troopers.
The incident happened in the morning hours of April 21 when an Arizona state trooper tried to stop the driver of a Toyota SUV for reckless driving on westbound Interstate 10 near mile post 214, east of Eloy, Arizona.
The SUV’s driver, Kevin Avila, 18, of Phoenix did not yield to the trooper’s lights and siren, entering the dirt median, where it rolled over.
The SUV then entered the eastbound traffic lanes of I-10, where it traveled with a tractor-traveler that was traveling eastbound.
A box truck heading east on I-10 also sustained damage in the collision.
There were nine people in the SUV, five of which were airlifted to hospitals in the Phoenix and Tucson area with serious to critical injuries.
Three of the nine people in the SUV were killed, with two declared dead at the scene and another one dying at the hospital.
The deceased are Alexis Miguel Fuentes De La Cruz, 22; Omar Ortiz-Ramirez, 36; and Raúl Carranza-Alonso, 39. All three of the deceased were Mexican nationals.
One of the other occupants of the SUV is still hospitalized and four were treated and released from the hospitals.
The driver of the tractor-trailer and box truck sustained minor injuries. They were treated and released from Tucson and Phoenix area hospitals.
Avila was treated and released from a Tucson-area hospital before being booked into the Pinal County Jail. Avila faces three counts of first-degree homicide, seven counts of endangerment and seven counts of aggravated assault.
The AZDPS Vehicular Crimes Unit is conducting the criminal investigation for this incident.
Investigators are working to complete the next-of-kin notification process.
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