PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona officials are trying to figure out how to curb wrong-way accidents on state highways after three such accidents killed seven people within a week.
In the most recent fatal head-on crash, two young adults from Mesa died early Sunday when a wrong-way driver struck their vehicle. On Friday, three people from Indonesia died in a wrong-way accident on Interstate 17 about 30 miles north of Phoenix. A May 12 wreck on a Tempe freeway ramp killed a wrong-way driver and an off-duty Mesa police officer.
The latest collision prompted the directors of the state Department of Public Safety, Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to meet Sunday to review the accident and discuss strategies.
The agencies said in a joint statement they are focusing on enforcement, engineering and education and that removal of impaired drivers from the highways is the DPS’ top priority.
The Department of Transportation might not have immediate engineering changes it can make, but it is looking at practices elsewhere in the country to identify any that should be adopted in Arizona, ADOT Director John Halikowski said.
ADOT previously lowered “wrong way” signs on freeway ramps to be closer to a driver’s eye level and for the past two decades has used reflectors in freeway lanes that display red to wrong-way drivers.
Those killed in the accident early Sunday on the Loop 202 in Gilbert were Michael Ruquet, 25, and Ashley Adea, 20, the DPS said.
Patricia Murphy of Chandler, 68, drove the wrong-way pickup truck that collided with the vehicle driven by Ruquet, the DPS said. Murphy and her 9-year-old grandson were seriously injured, and the DPS said detectives are looking into whether the woman was impaired.
The three from Indonesia who died on Friday were in a minivan struck by a wrong-way driver. Three passengers, including a 9-year-old child, also suffered serious injuries.
Authorities believe the wrong-way driver, a Phoenix man in his 60s, was impaired. He also was injured and will likely face reckless driving charges, authorities said.
Authorities have said the wrong-way driver in the May 12 accident had a blood-alcohol limit three times the legal limit for drivers.
The agencies’ statement said motorists should “expect the unexpected” on the road, not drive distracted and report all suspected impaired drivers immediately to law enforcement.
To help officers intercept a wrong-way driver, those calls should include good information on the vehicle, location and direction of travel, the statement said.
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