PAYSON, AZ — Authorities say three people were killed Friday night following a chain-reaction collision involving four vehicles on State Route 87 north of Payson.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said just before 9 p.m. a white Ford F-150 pickup truck was heading southbound on SR-87 and crossed the centerline, driving into northbound traffic.
The truck sideswiped a red Dodge Ram pickup truck and a white Ford Explorer who were both traveling northbound.
Another white Ford F-150 pickup truck was traveling southbound on SR-87 when it crashed with the white Ford pickup truck that caused the first crash.
Authorities said the impact caused the second white Ford pickup truck to leave the road and go down a hill into the canyon.
According to DPS, the driver of the white Ford F-150 pickup truck, a 49-year-old man from Scottsdale, that allegedly caused the crash was taken to a Phoenix-area hospital with serious injuries.
The passenger of the white Ford F-150 pickup truck, identified as 54-year-old Georgia Burnside of Payson, was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
The driver of the second white pickup truck, identified as 38-year-old Latissia Morris of San Tan Valley, was taken to a Phoenix-area hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.
The passenger, Morris’s 15-year-old son, was ejected from the truck and suffered fatal injuries.
Officials say the drivers and passengers of the other two vehicles involved did not suffer injuries.
DPS said impairment has not been ruled out in the incident.
The crash remains under investigation.
