On Friday, December 22, 2017, at approximately 10:15 a.m., Tucson Police officers and members of the Northwest Fire District responded to a serious injury collision near the intersection of West Sweetwater Drive and North Silverbell Road. Upon arrival, officers located multiple vehicles involved in the collision.
One driver was transported with life threatening injuries and two others were transported with minor injuries.
Traffic Detectives with the Tucson Police Department responded to the scene to continue the investigation. They were able to determine that a white 2009 Acura had been traveling eastbound on W. Sweetwater Drive at a high rate of speed. The Acura struck the rear end of another eastbound vehicle about a quarter of a mile west of N. Silverbell Road.
That collision caused the other vehicle to leave the roadway and roll down an embankment into a ditch. The driver of that vehicle was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. The Acura continued eastbound and passed another vehicle at approximately 80 mph in the westbound lanes of traffic. The Acura then drove through the red light at the intersection of W. Sweetwater and N. Silverbell and entered the parking lot of the Pima Animal Care Center without slowing down. The Acura struck four parked vehicles, causing those vehicles to be pushed into others, before finally coming to rest. One of those four vehicles was occupied and the driver of that vehicle was transported with minor injuries. The driver of the Acura was transported to Banner University Medical Center with life threatening injuries. At least nine vehicles were damaged during the incident.
On December 23, 2017, the driver of the Acura died from injuries sustained during the collisions. He was identified as 59-year-old Edward Robert Lopez. Next of kin has been notified. Speed was an obvious factor in the collision; however, there were no signs of impairment. Detectives are trying to determine if Mr. Lopez was having a medical emergency that may have caused the collision. Additional details will be released as they become available.