3 teens dead, one injured in fatal single-vehicle crash in Mesa

Kye Graves, Arizona Republic
·2 min read

Three teens were killed and another sustained minor injuries in a single-vehicle crash on Wednesday night in Mesa.

According to a police statement, at around 9 p.m., Mesa police responded to the area of Ellsworth and Guadalupe after receiving multiple calls about a traffic accident involving several vehicles.

Officers found a blue two-door Mustang in the single-vehicle crash, with four teen girls inside.

Evidence, eyewitness accounts and vehicle damage showed that the Mustang had been traveling eastbound on Guadalupe when the driver lost control while switching into the outside lane, near a curb.

The Mustang hit the curb and went over it into the landscaping before hitting a landscaping boulder, causing it to roll over and collide with a light pole before stopping, according to the statement.

Sawn Walkington of the Mesa Police Department traffic unit speaks to the media in Mesa on March 16, 2023, about a recent single-vehicle accident that resulted in the deaths of three teens.
Sawn Walkington of the Mesa Police Department traffic unit speaks to the media in Mesa on March 16, 2023, about a recent single-vehicle accident that resulted in the deaths of three teens.

The four occupants, aged from 14 to 17, were trapped inside the vehicle. Both the driver and front passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, and the two back passengers required extraction.

Both backseat passengers were taken to the hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead, with the other, the 14-year-old girl, only sustaining minor injuries. None of the teens in the car have been identified.

Police believe that both speed and weather were the primary causes of the accident but have not determined a specific cause. All occupants were wearing their seatbelts, police said.

Detective Richard Encinas speaks to the media in Mesa on March 16, 2023, about a recent single-vehicle accident that resulted in the deaths of three teens.
Detective Richard Encinas speaks to the media in Mesa on March 16, 2023, about a recent single-vehicle accident that resulted in the deaths of three teens.

"We suffered a terrible tragedy last night. As a department, as a community, and as a family, we want to send our condolences out to all the loved ones of the teens who lost their lives in this accident," Mesa police spokesperson Det. Richard Encinas told members of the media during a news conference on Thursday.

"As a parent, as a teacher, as a friend, or as a mentor, it only takes a couple of seconds to remind our kids about safe driving. It takes five minutes to talk to your kids about speeding, distracted driving and safe driving. As a community, we can do that small thing and hopefully try to prevent something as tragic as what happened yesterday."

No other information had been released.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 3 teens dead, 1 injured in single-vehicle crash in Mesa