A 76-year-old woman was killed and an 18-year-old driver was arrested after a five-vehicle chain-reaction crash at a city bus stop in north Phoenix, the Phoenix Police Department said in a release reported on November 1. The crash happened at about 9:10 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, near North 19th Avenue and West Evans Drive, where several vehicles had stopped behind a city bus while passengers were getting off.
Source: Phoenix Police Department release via Habari
Preliminary findings indicate that a gray Volvo SUV driven by White, 18, struck the rear of a white Dodge Ram pickup at a high rate of speed, triggering the chain-reaction crash involving five vehicles, police said. Detectives with the department's Vehicular Crimes Unit determined that the initial impact pushed the pickup into the other vehicles stopped behind the bus.
Source: The Arizona Times
The woman who died
During the crash, a vehicle driven by Frances Horner, 76, left the roadway, crossed a sidewalk and struck a small brick wall, according to police. Phoenix Fire personnel transported Horner to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Three other drivers — men aged 33, 45 and 26 — were uninjured and remained at the scene, police said. White was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Flight from the scene, an impairment evaluation and an arrest at the hospital
Police said White attempted to run from the scene after the collision but was detained by witnesses. At the hospital, a Drug Recognition Expert assigned to the Vehicular Crimes Unit evaluated White and observed signs of impairment, according to the department. The release did not identify a substance and provided no toxicology results.
While receiving treatment, White allegedly kicked an officer in the face. Police said officers arrested him for aggravated assault, and he was listed under booking number G290966. The department's release spells his first name 'Jeffrey' in its suspect listing and 'Jeffery' in its narrative. The allegations against White have not been proven in court.
Phoenix police say additional charges are pending as Vehicular Crimes Unit detectives continue investigating the collision. Impairment is alleged on the basis of a Drug Recognition Expert's evaluation; no toxicology result has been released.
Why a stopped queue behind a bus is one of a city driver's riskiest moments
Rear-end pileups behind stopped traffic are among the most common fatal crash patterns on Phoenix's wide arterial avenues, and a bus discharging passengers creates exactly the conditions seen on 19th Avenue: a line of stopped vehicles, drivers behind them who may not expect a full stop, and sidewalks and walls immediately beside the roadway for any vehicle pushed out of its lane — which is what police say happened to Horner's vehicle. Investigators have not said what speed the Volvo was travelling beyond describing it as a high rate of speed, and they have not alleged a cause for the crash beyond the impairment evaluation at the hospital.
What happens next
Vehicular Crimes Unit detectives are continuing the investigation, and police say additional charges are pending beyond the aggravated-assault arrest made at the hospital. White's case will move through Maricopa County's courts, where prosecutors will decide on charges arising from the death of Frances Horner once the investigation and any toxicology work are complete. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when charges are filed or the department releases further findings.