3 hospitalized following possible wrong-way crash in Peoria

PEORIA, Ariz. - The Loop 101 is about a mile west from the scene of the crash at Northern and 87th Avenues where the Arizona Department of Public Safety confirms they are investigating reports of a wrong-way driver in the northbound Northern off-ramp.

In the meantime, Peoria police are collecting a lot of evidence here.

"With us not being here or having any cameras to show us what happened in the accident, we have to rely on the evidence in the roadway and what we see in the roadway to kind of piece it together," Sgt. Kevin Tarrant said.

Police had a large debris field to sift through along Northern Avenue. They worked through much of the morning and at one point, they used a DPS drone to help with the investigation.

Police say two cars were traveling eastbound on Northern at around 3 a.m., and they're looking into whether one of those cars was the reported wrong-way driver. DPS is investigating and the driver at fault was tested for impairment and authorities say speed was likely a factor.

"Going down a residential surface street at you, know, speeds excessive 60, 70 miles per hour [is] never a good thing," Sgt. Tarrant said.

Three people were taken to the hospital, with two in stable condition.

"I normally come down 83rd, well I couldn’t, so I went around, tried to go down 87th to see if I could talk to somebody," Taryn Nelson said. "[That] didn't work."

Northern Avenue from 83rd to 91st Avenues was closed, and so was the entrance to the Brighton School, which was blocked by the crash.

"I'll probably stay home with him, I don't know what else to do, I don't have a babysitter on call or anything," Nelson said.

Peoria police say the driver who was at fault will likely face several charges.