Three students of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson were killed late on Saturday night when the car they were travelling in left a curve on East Skyline Drive in the Catalina Foothills, struck a curb, went into a culvert and caught fire, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said. All three teenagers died at the scene.
Source: KOLD News 13 / Pima County Sheriff's Department
Deputies responded just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, November 14, to the crash near East Skyline Drive and North Foothills Drive in north Tucson, and found the car fully engulfed in flames with three people inside, officials said. The sheriff's department put the crash time at 11:05 p.m. Inside the car were an 18-year-old driver and two passengers, aged 17 and 16, deputies said.
Detectives from the sheriff's Traffic Unit believe the 18-year-old driver lost control while navigating a westbound curve leading toward North Foothills Drive, according to the department's account carried by KVOA and KOLD. The vehicle hit a curb and went into a culvert area beside the road, where it caught fire.
What investigators believe — and what they have not established
"Speed and impairment are believed to have been factors in the collision," sheriff's officials said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. The Arizona Daily Star reported the department's position in similar terms on Sunday, and KGUN 9 reported that the two factors were believed to have contributed.
Those are suspicions, not final findings. Investigators have released no speed estimate, no evidence behind the impairment suspicion and no final cause for why the car failed to make the curve. The sheriff's department had also not formally identified the students by name in its crash account; the identifications released on Sunday came from the school and the Diocese of Tucson, and they do not by themselves confirm which student was driving.
A school in mourning
On Sunday, November 15, Salpointe Catholic High School and the Diocese of Tucson identified the three students who died and expressed profound sadness at the loss. Two of the students were under 18, and this report refers to all three by age rather than by name. The names were released a day after the crash, as the school prepared support for students, teachers and staff returning on Monday.
Bishop James A. Misko of the Diocese of Tucson addressed the deaths in a prepared statement carried by KGUN and the Arizona Daily Star: "As people, we grieve; but as people of faith, we grieve with the sure hope that God will not abandon us to face our difficulties alone." The bishop asked the faithful to pray for the students and for God's comfort, strength and peace for their families, loved ones and the entire school community.
Grief counselors and additional support resources will be available at Salpointe on Monday, November 16, for students, faculty and staff, diocese officials said. The school campus is at 1545 East Copper Street in Tucson. A prayer service open to the public was also announced for the school's Foundation Hall at 5 p.m., KVOA reported.
What happens next
The Pima County Sheriff's Department investigation remains open. Detectives still have to establish why the car left the curve on Skyline Drive — a winding foothills road below the Santa Catalina Mountains — and whether the suspected speed and impairment findings are borne out. No timetable for the investigation's conclusions has been announced.
For the Salpointe community, the immediate week begins with counselors on campus and a school of students, teachers and families absorbing the loss of three classmates at once. Anyone with information about the crash can contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department.