A young couple and their daughter were among the five individuals who lost their lives when a suspected drunk driver collided head-on with their vehicle while driving the wrong way on an Arizona highway, officials reported.
Jason Ortiz was driving his wife, Madeline, and their young daughter, Jennilee, at around 2 a.m. on Saturday when a Jeep sped towards them on the wrong side of US 93 and struck their Hyundai head-on, according to AZ Family.
Both vehicles burst into flames, killing everyone involved — the Ortizes as well as two men in the car that hit them, the report said.
The Jeep driver is suspected of being drunk, officials said, without identifying him or his male passenger.
“I just wish that [people] wouldn’t drink and drive. You know?” said Jason Ortiz’s heartbroken best friend, Ryan Ronts.
The incident left a profound impact. “It’s just devastating. I don’t think a lot of people realize the consequences of their actions until after it happens. I hope they died on impact and not by burning, that would be truly horrible,” he added grimly.
His pal “was a really nice guy and he was … a hard worker,” Ronts said,
The crash follows an alarming trend of intoxicated drivers in Arizona, officials there noted..
Last year, from just January to May, there were five deadly wrong-way crashes with seven people killed in the Grand Canyon State.
So far in 2025, there have been four deadly wrong-way crashes, with eight people killed — with impairment a factor in nearly all of them, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves.
