On Saturday, August 1, 2015 at approximately 1:30 p.m. Glendale Police officers responded to the area of 4700 N.W. Grand Avenue for a multi-vehicle collision. There were three vehicles involved and units from both Glendale and Phoenix Fire responded to treat the injured.
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The driver of one of the vehicles, 36-year old Steven Mendez of Scottsdale, was treated on-scene and transported to a local hospital but was later declared deceased. A second driver, 41-year old Tucson Police Department Officer Isaac Rosario, was treated on-scene but declared deceased by Phoenix Fire. A female child was also transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. An adult female driver in a third vehicle suffered minor injuries but was not transported from the scene.
Vehicular Crimes Detectives determine that Mendez was travelling southeast on Grand Avenue in his SUV. He left the roadway to the south striking two light poles and then went across all southeast bound lanes, across the center median and into oncoming traffic. It was then that his SUV collided with the two northwest bound sedans driven by Officer Rosario and the other adult female.
The investigation is ongoing and it is unknown if speed and/or impairment had any role in the collision.