Crime & Safety

Sgt. Intentionally Hit Thanksgiving Wrong-Way Driver To Stop Him

The driver continued on the 202 in Tempe, ultimately hitting a truck head-on, killing the elderly woman who was a passenger in his vehicle.

TEMPE, AZ — A sergeant with the Arizona Department of Public Safety intentionally hit a car headed the wrong direction on the 202 Freeway in Tempe on Thanksgiving morning in an attempt to stop the vehicle, according to the department.

But the wrong-way driver continue heading east in the westbound lanes of the 202, hitting a car and then crashing head-on into a pickup truck about a half-mile east of where the sergeant attempted to stop the driver.

The passenger in the wrong-way vehicle, an 81-year-old woman, was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to the department. The 78-year-old wrong-way driver was also taken to a local hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

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The driver and passenger in the pickup truck both suffered minor injuries, according to police.

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