Two women and one man died after a two-car collision, where both cars broke traffic laws early Saturday morning in Tucson, according to the Tucson Police Department.
Shortly before 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Operation Division Midtown officers, along with the Tucson Fire Department responded to reports of a collision involving a gray 2013 Audi A5 and a gold 1999 Toyota Camry.
According to police, when authorities arrived at the area of the incident, seven people were identified as being involved in the collision leading to more medical personnel being requested to assist.
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Tucson police said that the driver of the Toyota, Ronald Cook, 31, and the passenger of the Toyota, Kristina Orantez, 35, were pronounced dead at the area of the collision.
Occupying the Audi were three men and two women. Of the five people in the car, three passengers were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, including Xiomara Encinas-Cruz, who later died, police said.
The driver of the Audi, who was identified as a man, sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, police said.
Detectives responded to the area of the collision to continue the investigation. After conducting interviews and evaluating roadway evidence, they determined that the Audi was traveling eastbound on East Grant Road at a high speed, without headlights on. Simultaneously, the Toyota was traveling northbound on North Palo Verde Road and failed to stop for a stop sign before attempting to cross East Grant Road, where the two cars eventually collided, police said in the news release.
An officer from the Impaired Driver Enforcement Unit later responded to the hospital to evaluate the driver of the Audi for possible impairment. In its evaluation, the officer found that the driver of the Audi had alcohol in his system, but did not exceed the level of impairment by Arizona State Law, police said.
Police said speeding and driving without headlights by the Audi, along with failure to stop for a stop sign by the Toyota were the main contributing factors of the collision.
This remained an ongoing investigation. Detectives presented the case to the Pima County Attorney’s Office to determine if charges will be issued, police said.
3 dead, 4 injured after early-morning car collision in Tucson – The Arizona Republic
