Friday, January 2, 2015

TWO HOSPITALIZED AFTER CRASHES ON INTERSTATE I-19 IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IN ARIZONA



Two hospitalized after crashes on Interstate I-19 in Santa Cruz County in Arizona


A Nissan passenger vehicle burns in the median of Interstate 19 after crashing into a semi truck on Friday.

Posted: Friday, January 2, 2015 11:52 am | Updated: 11:54 am, Fri Jan 2, 2015. 

Two women were hospitalized following crashes on Interstate 19 in Santa Cruz County during the first two days of the New Year.

Interstate 19 (I-19) is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Arizona. I-19 travels from Nogales, roughly 300 feet (91 m) from the Mexican border, to Tucson, at I-10. The highway also travels through the cities of Rio Rico, Green Valley, and Sahuarita.

At approximately 8:49 a.m. on Jan. 1, a 2005 Ford Expedition was traveling north near Kilometer 40 when the female driver lost control, said Quentin Mehr of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The Expedition rolled over and came to rest on the southbound side of the interstate, Mehr said. The driver was ejected and was subsequently airlifted to a local hospital with unspecified injuries. Three passengers in the SUV were treated and released.

No one in the vehicle was wearing seat belts at the time of the rollover, Mehr said. The incident is under investigation, but impairment is not suspected.
Then at about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, a Nissan passenger car was traveling south on I-19 at Kilometer 26 when the female driver lost control of her vehicle and ran into the rear end of a semi truck.

The semi came to a controlled stop in the right hand emergency lane, Mehr said, but the Nissan went into the median and caught fire. The blaze was extinguished by personnel from the Tubac Fire District.

The driver of the Nissan was transported to a local hospital for treatment of her unspecified injuries. Fatigue is the suspected cause of the crash, but it remains under investigation Mehr said.