20-Year-Old Woman Remains Hospitalized Four Days After Multi-Vehicle Collision with Police Cruiser

A four-car crash involving a Gila River police officer occurred Monday, resulting in injuries to the officer and three young women.

Among the women, a 20-year-old from Tucson sustained serious injuries and remained hospitalized four days post-accident, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesperson Bart Graves.

The incident took place on Interstate 10 near Riggs Road. As of Tuesday, the Tucson woman had not yet been discharged from the hospital. Two other passengers, aged 23 and 26, suffered minor injuries.

Graves confirmed that the Gila River police officer involved was also hospitalized but with minor injuries. The investigation into the crash’s cause is ongoing.

The crash caused significant traffic disruptions, rerouting westbound I-10 traffic onto State Route 347, which affected local commuters throughout most of Monday.

James Singleton, a Tortosa resident and newly appointed member of the Maricopa Planning & Zoning Commission, addressed the incident on social media. He emphasized the pressing issue of traffic on SR 347, which he argued is ill-equipped for the current volume of over 60,000 vehicles daily.

Singleton tagged Arizona lawmakers in his post, urging them to consider prioritizing improvements to SR 347. He highlighted, “This funneled all the traffic from the 10 onto 347 which can’t even support the current traffic of 60,000+ cars a day.”