Phoenix Man ID'd As Driver In Collision That Killed Three Passengers

PINAL COUNTY, AZ —The Arizona Department of Public Safety has revealed the identity of the man they say was behind the wheel of an SUV that crashed Thursday while trying to elude police. Three of the vehicle's nine occupants died when the SUV hit a semi-truck on Interstate 10 near Eloy.

Kevin Avila, 18, of Phoenix, was the driver and suffered minor injuries in the collision, police said. He was treated and released from a Tucson-area hospital before being booked into the Pinal County Jail on three counts of first-degree homicide, seven counts of endangerment and seven counts of aggravated assault.

KOLD reported that federal authorities are investigating the incident as "attempted human smuggling activity."

According to police reports, at approximately 8:38 a.m., an Arizona State Trooper attempted to stop Avila's Toyota SUV for reckless driving on westbound I-10 near milepost 214, east of Eloy. But the SUV failed to stop at the trooper's lights and siren.

Instead, the vehicle entered a dirt median and rolled over. The SUV then entered the eastbound traffic lanes of I-10 and collided with a tractor-trailer. A box truck traveling eastbound on I-10 also sustained damage in the incident.

Authorities said two passengers in the SUV were declared dead at the scene, while another died later in the hospital. Five of the passengers were airlifted to hospitals in Phoenix and Tucson in conditions ranging from serious to critical.

The drivers of the tractor-trailer and box truck sustained minor injuries, police said.

According to KOLD, DPS continues to work with the Pinal County Medical Examiner and the Mexican Consul's Office to identify the three people who died in the collision.