Contributed Photo: Two Thatcher residents died Tuesday in a single-vehicle rollover off U.S. Highway 70 east of Safford.
Children transported to hospitals
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – Two adults were pronounced deceased at the scene and two children were hospitalized after a single-vehicle rollover on U.S. Highway 70 east of Safford on Tuesday.
The crash took place at roughly 11 a.m. at about milepost 355, which is in the area of the intersection with U.S. Highway 191 North.
Christopher Robert Errante, 28, and Joyce Ellen Riley, 54, both of Thatcher were ejected from the vehicle and were pronounced deceased at the scene.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, an unrestrained 4-year-old child was found in the rear seat and a 2-year-old child was found in a car seat in the rear as well. Both children suffered head and other injuries and were initially taken by Lifeline Ambulance to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center before being transported to Banner-University Medical Center Tucson for further treatment.
The occupants were westbound on U.S. Highway 70 when the passenger side tires left the roadway. The driver (Errante) overcorrected back to the south onto the roadway and then overcorrected back to the north causing the vehicle – a tan-colored 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe – to rotate clockwise as it went off the road onto the shoulder. At that time, the Hyundai then began to roll over, causing both Errante and Riley to be ejected.
Debris was strewn about the desert as the vehicle tumbled into the brush before coming to a rest.
AZDPS was assisted at the scene by officers with the Safford and Thatcher police departments and deputies with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Arizona Department of Transportation employees.
