Westbound freeway traffic routed through Duncan and Safford
By Jon Johnson
COCHISE COUNTY – Three people died at the scene and two others were hospitalized in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 10 near the New Mexico border on Saturday.
The crash occurred at about 5 p.m. near milepost 391 and caused the freeway’s westbound lanes to be shut down for several hours and traffic to be rerouted onto Highway 70 and Highway 191 through Duncan and Safford, respectively.
According to the Department of Public Safety, the collision is under investigation and occurred in the westbound lane between a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle with five passengers. The commercial truck was traveling eastbound on I-10 when its front left tire blew, causing the truck to cross the median into westbound traffic and collide with an SUV. The crash ignited a fire in the tractor-trailer.
All three fatalities were from the passenger vehicle, and the two other occupants were flown to a Tucson hospital for treatment and were last listed as being in critical condition.
The truck driver was also airlifted to a hospital.
