A woman is dead after a two-car crash involving a DUI suspect on Interstate 17 and Northern Avenue in north Phoenix early Saturday morning.
Interstate 17 southbound was closed at Northern Avenue for several hours due to the collision that occurred around 3 a.m., officials said.
According to a DPS spokesperson, 20-year-old Desiree Sabby was killed after she struck a vehicle that was stopped in the third lane with the driver passed out. The spokesperson said another vehicle had just swerved to miss the stopped vehicle, but Sabby wasn't able to stop in time.
“I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye,” Sabby’s sister, Danielle, told ABC15 on Sunday. “I wish I could’ve held her hand.”
Family members said Desiree was working the overnight shift at her job that night to earn some extra money. She was heading home when the crash happened.
“She didn’t deserve to go like this,” Danielle said, adding that her sister was planning a weekend getaway with her longtime boyfriend and had hopes of going back to school.
The driver of the stopped vehicle, 25-year-old Aaron Michael Larson of Tolleson, was processed for DUI and arrested for second-degree murder. He was not injured in the crash.
According to police documents, Larson was "disoriented, confused and smelled of an alcoholic beverage at the scene". He also reportedly asked a witness if he was being arrested for drinking.
Documents show that Larson told police he was at the Metro Sportz Bar, near Metrocenter, with a friend for three hours before the crash and had "three Shock Tops and a Miller Lite". He then took his friend home and was heading home himself when the crash occurred.
The crash was the third deadly crash that occurred in the Valley Saturday morning. Authorities say one person died during a single-car crash near 32nd Street and McDowell Road and a pedestrian was killed during a hit-and-run accident at 19th and Glendale avenues.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses for Desiree Sabby.
