Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Troopers are investigating a fatal collision involving a commercial vehicle, motorhome, and two passenger vehicles on State Route 98, milepost 332, near Kaibeto, Ariz.
On Monday, June 27, 2016, at about 10:40 a.m., a commercial vehicle driven by Isaiah Parrish, 25, from Page, Ariz. was traveling westbound on State Route 98 near milepost 332 when the vehicle drifted off the right edge of the road. The driver overcorrected and lost control the vehicle. The commercial vehicle ran across the road centerline and collided with a motorhome, driven by Geoffrey Escandon, 48, from Tonalea, Ariz.
After colliding with the motorhome, the commercial vehicle ran into an eastbound Nissan passenger car, driven by Ralph Lee, Jr., 63, from Page, Ariz. A Toyota passenger vehicle, driving eastbound between the motorhome and the Nissan, ran off the road and struck a boulder, in an attempt to avoid a collision. That vehicle was driven by Jeremy Green, 39, from St. George, Utah.
The impact of the commercial vehicle with the motorhome heavily damaged the motorhome, tearing it open. Two thirteen-year-old boys, passengers in the motorhome, died at the scene from their injuries. The driver of the motorhome and five other passengers were transported to Page Hospital and Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment of injuries. The drivers of the passenger vehicles and the commercial vehicle were uninjured.
The investigation of this collision is on-going.
“This collision resulted in the worst type of heartache and tragedy for the families of the two boys who were killed,” said AZDPS Sgt. Michael Wishmann of the Highway Patrol Flagstaff District. “These kinds of collisions can often be avoided if drivers are aware of their surroundings and aware of the traffic around them.”