Impairment suspected in wrong-way Loop 101 crash that injured 2

Investigators say the 26-year-old wrong-way driver who collided head-on with another motorist Friday was impaired, furthering frustrations about the dangerous issue that has become a focus in metro Phoenix.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Friday, multiple motorists called 911 to report a wrong-way vehicle traveling south in the northbound lanes of Loop 101 from U.S. 60, said Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Kameron Lee.

The wrong-way vehicle, a silver sedan, collided with a gray sedan north of Guadalupe Road on the Mesa-Tempe border, Lee said.

Both drivers were 26-year-old men, and they were treated and transported with non-life-threatening injuries to a hospital. The wrong-way driver suffered the most serious injuries, Lee said.

Neither his name nor additional details about the man were available Friday.

Moments after the initial crash, a wreck involving three other vehicles happened nearby, with one of the vehicles rolling onto its roof. Two of those drivers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, and the third driver and a passenger were treated at the scene.

The incidents and subsequent investigations closed Loop 101 northbound until about 8:30 a.m., according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Wrong-way detection efforts underway

Friday’s crash happened outside the zone where officials have been pilot testing a $3.7 million thermal-camera project.

That system will immediately alert ADOT and DPS to a wrong-way driver, speeding up the process of warning others about an oncoming vehicle and alerting nearby law-enforcement officers.

The system became operational last month along a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 17, which historically has been a major trouble spot, said Doug Nintzel, ADOT spokesman.

More broadly, there were 245 wrong-way crashes tallied on Arizona divided highways from 2004 to 2014, according to a state report. Those wrecks resulted in 91 fatalities, and 65 percent of wrong-way drivers were found to have been impaired — on par with the national average for impairment among wrong-way drivers.

“Wrong-way crashes have sadly been part of the landscape for many years," Nintzel said previously. "This is a very difficult challenge because in the majority of cases these drivers are impaired."

The project along I-17 is the first thermal-detection system of its kind in the United States, ADOT has said. It was approved by the state Transportation Board in June after Gov. Doug Ducey called for action to address the issue,

The goal, officials reiterated, is to reduce the risk of serious crashes — the system alone cannot prevent wrong-way incidents.

“The prototype system is operational and will continue to undergo testing in the coming months,” the department said Friday, adding the system will be researched for about a year. “While technology holds promise for reducing the risk of serious crashes, it can’t prevent wrong-way drivers from getting behind the wheel.”

The governor last month urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow prosecutors to charge impaired wrong-way drivers with felonies — even if they do not cause fatal crashes. Ducey's office said it intended to obtain $1.4 million to increase the DPS night-patrol program to catch wrong-way drivers.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8515, jpohl@azcentral.com or on Twitter: @pohl_jason.

READ MORE:

Wrong-way driver stopped without incident on Loop 101 in Scottsdale

ADOT app alerts you to wrong-way drivers, other traffic problems

ADOT installs more than 2 dozen signs on I-17 to catch eye of wrong-way drivers

Phoenix-area weekend traffic: Closures, delays and detours