The Arizona Department of Public Safety is investigating a crash involving a wrong-way teenaged girl driver resulting in numerous injuries on the southbound Loop 101 near the Mesa-Tempe border on Monday morning, Sept. 25th. The incident occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. when a 16-year old teenage girl entered the wrong-way on an off-ramp at Guadalupe Road. According to Tempe Fire Department there were 2 crashes less than a mile from each other. 1 crash involved a 37-year old man was traveling in the right direction when the crash happened and received minor injuries.
There is no word yet on the severity of the others injured. The crashes caused some debris to block the HOV lane and 2 left lanes for a couple of hours. Traffic is said to have been backed up for about 2 miles. These lanes reopened around 11 a.m. once the vehicles involved were towed and crews were able clear the roadway.
The collisions come just 1 month after Arizona Gov. Ducey urged Arizona Department of Transportation to install a thermal-camera wrong-way driver detection system on Interstate 17 in Phoenix. The project, costing around $3.7 million is aimed at reducing the risk of fatalities from collisions caused by wrong-way drivers. Sadly the efficacy of this detection system have not been felt by the general public as just 2 days prior to the wrong-way teenaged driver, yet another wrong-way driver was caught on video camera by a ride-share driver. Andrew Vock, a driver for the ride-share company Lyft, was driving on the 7th Avenue exit of eastbound Loop 101 Saturday night when the incident occurred. Vock says he was on his way to pick up a passenger when he encountered the wrong-way driver. He was able to catch the moment from his vehicle’s dashboard camera, a precaution he uses for his job. It's unknown at this time how long the other driver was driving the wrong way.
"That's one of the biggest fears when you're out on the road, you just never know what's going to happen," he said. "I'll see people with phones in their hand, they're not paying any attention to the road," he said. "Just be careful out there because your life and other people's lives are in danger." Vock says he did not call police to report the incident since no crash occurred and he did not get the other driver's license plate number. He simply wants this to serve as a wake-up call for other drivers.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto collision, Accident Lawyer Arizona strongly encourages you to call our car accident professionals at (877) 791-4777 for a free consultation. Our highly skilled and experienced lawyers will provide you with the best legal representation and guidance that you need. Our offices are conveniently located in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and we conduct regular travels in the state to meet with clients. Reach out to us directly to speak with a car accident lawyers whenever you need one!
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/reported-wrong-way-crash-on-loop-101-in-tempe
