According to Mesa Fire officials, two people were killed and one person was injured after a motor vehicle accident involving 4 vehicles near Brown and Recker roads. Speed and distracted driving appear to be contributing factors.
The Motor Vehicle Accident
Allegedly, a silver Toyota FJ Cruiser was traveling north at extremely high speed on Recker Road when it ran into a car stopped at a red light. The stopped car was carrying two passengers. These two passengers, Guadalupe Madril, 37, and Jason Aguilera, 33, were both pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police statement, two other single-passenger vehicles were involved in the wreck, but the drivers did not receive any life-threatening injuries.
Distracted Driving a Factor
The driver of the FJ Cruiser, a 35-year-old woman, exhibited behavior consistent with impairment and distraction. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and remains under police supervision. Aerial footage of the motor vehicle accident shows that one car was flipped over. Another vehicle was missing its roof and rear end. Pieces of the vehicles were strewn across the intersection.
Mesa police said are still investigating the wreck.
A Closer Look at Distracted Driving
Since November 2013, DPS has been asking its Highway Patrol officers to keep a log of all of their distracted driving related traffic stops. From late November to April 1, DPS officers responded to 10,166 crashes on state highways, and of those crashes, 1,163 were attributed to distracted driving. It’s not just texting. Besides electronics, officers found distracted driving as the result of grooming, eating, drinking, smoking, pets, other occupants of the vehicle, and outside distractions, which was found to be the leading cause of distracted driving, resulting in 255 crashes. “Reaching for objects” within the vehicle and cellphone use came in second and third as most common distractions.
If you’ve suffered a personal injury from a car accident, you need the expert advice of motor vehicle accident attorneys such as those at Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC.
