EL MIRAGE, AZ — An 11-year-old girl has died and three other people were critically injured during a head-on crash Wednesday evening near El Mirage Road and Olive Avenue.
At about 6:30 p.m., El Mirage police received 911 calls for a crash involving a pickup truck and a passenger car.
During the investigation, detectives learned the pickup truck was traveling south on El Mirage Road and veered sharply across the raised median, and crashed into a car that was heading northbound.
The pickup truck rolled over at least one time, police said.
A total of four people were inside the car. An 11-year-old girl was thrown from the car during impact and died at a hospital.
A 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl were taken to a hospital as well as a 53-year-old woman driver. They are all listed in stable condition.
Two people inside the pickup truck received minor injuries and stayed at the scene.
El Mirage police detectives determined the passenger of the truck, 28-year-old Adrian Ballesteros, and his girlfriend, the driver, were having an argument when Ballesteros pulled on the steering wheel. This caused his girlfriend to lose control of the truck and veer across the median, police said.
Ballesteros has been arrested and booked on one count of manslaughter and five counts of endangerment.
