Three people were severely injured and traffic was blocked for hours on State Route 260 following a four-car accident shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, according to Verde Valley Fire District.
Helicopters were called in to transport patients “due to the severity and level of injuries,” Verde Valley Fire District spokeswoman Merry Shanks stated in a press release.
Two of the patients were transported to Flagstaff Medical Center, and the third was flown to John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix for treatment.
A fourth vehicle with two occupants sustained minor damage, and no injuries, Shanks reported.
Details about the circumstances of the accident, which happened near the intersection of Del Rio Drive and State Route 260, were unavailable.
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Dwight D’Evelyn said YCSO officers were on scene but the investigation was being handled by Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Calls and e-mails to DPS requesting information were not immediately returned.
Firefighters arrived on scene to find four cars involved, including one which had rolled onto its side.
“Extrication was started immediately,” according to Shanks.
The Cottonwood Fire Department, Verde Valley Ambulance, the Clarkdale Police Department and the Cottonwood Police Department assisted at the scene with patients, traffic and the investigation.
VVFD crews remained on scene to assist DPS with traffic control and scene lighting, enabling them to complete their investigation.
Shortly after 6 p.m., another motor vehicle accident in the same vicinity at Western Drive and State Route 260 was reported, so personnel from Cottonwood Fire and Verde Valley Ambulance were diverted to that scene, where two additional patients were transported for treatment.
