Distracted Semi-truck Driver Caused Crash that Killed 5 on I-10 in Chandler

CHANDLER, AZ – Five people are dead after a chain-reaction crash involving two semi-trucks and four cars led to a large fire on Interstate 10 in Chandler early Thursday morning, DPS said, and the freeway was partly closed for about 11 hours. Eastbound I-10 partially reopened just before 5 p.m. and fully reopened a short time later.

It happened on the eastbound side of the I-10 at about 6:15 a.m. south of Chandler Boulevard but just before the Loop 202 Santan Freeway interchange. As traffic was congested because of a crash that happened hours before, DPS says the driver of a semi hauling garbage didn’t slow down and slammed into two passenger cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other cars. The two cars that were crushed between the semi-trucks burst into flames, killing five.

DPS says the driver of the at-fault truck suffered minor injuries and troopers are investigating distraction as a possible cause of the crash.

The crash marked the third wreck involving a semi in less than six hours on I-10. Two separate crashes had shut down the eastbound side of the freeway a few miles away at Queen Creek Road. In the first, a tractor-trailer caught fire near Riggs Road when DPS says another semi-truck driver with a car-hauler crashed into three other semi-trucks. No one was seriously injured in those other crashes, but extensive traffic backups began just in time for the morning commute. DPS troopers say a large amount of diesel was spilled onto the road mixed in with the debris from all four semis. At this time, it appears that this latest crash was a result of those earlier incidents.

We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this crash.

Source: 3TV/CBS 5