Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Paramedics attend to an elderly driver after he collided with a truck that appeared to pull out in front of him and onto U.S. Highway 70 in Pima on Monday afternoon.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – Whether on duty or off, when it comes to an emergency situation in Pima, crews respond in force.
A two-vehicle collision caused slowing on U.S. Highway 70 on Monday due to the westbound lanes being closed.
According to the evidence at the scene, it appeared as if a tan, GMC pickup truck, driven by a young male, pulled out onto the highway in front of a westbound silver, Buick sedan driven by an elderly man. The crash occurred near the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and 600 East as the truck appeared to have attempted to cross all five lanes of travel from Alder Lane onto 600 East.
The sedan struck the truck, causing front-end damage to the sedan and damage to the passenger side of the truck. The truck ended up in the far westbound lane facing northbound, while the sedan ended up in both westbound lanes facing southbound.
Paramedics from Lifeline Ambulance arrived at the scene at about 2:45 p.m. and assisted the elderly man out of his car and onto a gurney. He was then placed into the ambulance and transported to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center. According to a family member, the driver of the sedan suffered a laceration to his arm that required surgery and that he would be kept at the hospital overnight for evaluation.
The young man driving the truck showed obvious signs of being distraught at the scene but did not appear to have any injuries.
An off-duty Graham County Sheriff’s Office deputy directed traffic to the center lane to keep the traffic flowing until the vehicles were removed by Nutcracker Towing.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is the lead investigator for the crash. Pima Police officers were also on the scene along with other first responders.
