2 dead in crash on I-10 south of Phoenix

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. – Two people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 south of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said Wednesday.

The accident occurred just after 12 p.m. on Oct. 16 at milepost 169, about two miles south of Riggs Road. DPS says traffic was moving slowly in the westbound lanes when a box truck failed to slow and crashed into a pickup truck and three other vehicles.

The collision threw both the box and the pickup truck into the center line and both vehicles caught fire. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. They have not been identified.

Two other drivers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

I-10 was closed in both directions between Riggs and Casa Blanca streets, but the road has since reopened.

“The fire was so fierce…”

“The cause was someone driving too fast under the conditions and not paying close attention to slow traffic and changing situations on the roadway,” said Bart Graves, Arizona DPS spokesman. “At this point we do not know the gender of the two deceased. The fire was so intense that we have to rely on the coroner to identify them.”

Graves said distracted driving is a common cause of accidents.

“We had a fatal accident on I-8 over the weekend where the at-fault driver was looking at his cell phone and hit a motorcycle, killing him. This happens all the time across the state. I’m not saying that was a factor here, but definitely. “Speed ​​and attention were a factor,” Graves said.

DPS responds to several crashes each year on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson, but work is underway to make this stretch of road safer.

“I know they’re planning on putting in another lane, and that’s still a few years away,” Graves said.

The I-10 Gila River Indian Community Project will create an additional lane in both directions on the 26-mile route. Construction will begin in mid-2026 and end in 2028.