SAN SIMON — Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said the next of kin have been notified and the identities released of the people killed in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 10 in San Simon on Saturday, Sept. 14.
Pronounced dead at the scene were Juan Emilio Moreno, 26, from Sunland Park, N.M.; and Christina Cecilia Sanchez, 34, from El Paso, Texas. Also killed was a 17-year-old male from El Paso.
Three people were also air-lifted from the scene to area hospitals for their injuries. Two have been treated and released, and one remains hospitalized with what is described as “critical injuries.”
The crash happened at about 5:10 p.m. at milepost 291 in San Simon, near the New Mexico state line.
DPS said a semi tractor-trailer was traveling eastbound when its front left tire blew, causing the vehicle to cross the median and crash into a westbound SUV carrying five people.
The crash resulted in the closure of both westbound lanes of I-10 for 11 hours, rerouting traffic on U.S. Highway 70 in Lordsburg, N.M., through Duncan and Safford, and onto U.S. Highway 191 to reconnect with the I-10.
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