PEORIA, AZ — A wrong-way driver was killed in a crash after making a U-turn along Loop 101 in Peoria late Tuesday night.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials say that the crash was reported just after 11 p.m.
A vehicle, reportedly headed northbound in the southbound lanes of L-101 at milepost 11 (near Grand Avenue), collided with another vehicle at milepost 13 (near Thunderbird Road).
The wrong-way driver, identified as an 18-year-old man, was killed in the crash.
A 22-year-old man driving the other car was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
DPS says the driver was attempting to make a U-turn on the freeway when the crash happened.
"This was way different than run-of-the-mill wrong-way crashes," said DPS Spokesperson Bart Graves.
ABC15 has been in touch with the victim's family and are working to get an update on how he's doing.
The wrong-way driver died at the hospital.
"We're not really sure where he was going at the time of this crash," said Graves. "We know he was a nearby resident, and I'm not clear if he lived with his parents or not. But there are so many unanswered questions.
After talking to family, troopers don't think he purposely turned into traffic. But they aren't ruling out intoxication.
"It's possible we may never know why he did what he did, but we will certainly work with the medical examiners' office to get the results of a toxicology test so we can determine if alcohol is a factor."
