GOLD CANYON, AZ — Four people are dead after a wrong-way crash late Friday night on U.S. 60 near Gold Canyon.
The crash happened just before 11:30 p.m. and had two vehicles involved, according to Superstition Fire & Medical officials.
When firefighters arrived, one of the two vehicles was engulfed in flames, and multiple people had been ejected.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth person was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where they later died.
Among those killed was the suspected wrong-way driver. DPS has identified him as 80-year-old James Lee Curtis of Mesa.
Three people in the other vehicle who died have been identified as 24-year-old Nadia Biascoechea of Mesa, 20-year-old Noel Parker and 24-year-old Cari Lee.
Parker’s family tells ABC15 she was a “moonbeam, showing love and light to everyone she met.” She worked as a chef at the Gold Canyon Golf Resort and loved to cook for people.
“She just always wanted people to feel loved and feel happy, and she was the best sister ever,” said Madonna Parker, Noel’s older sister.
Hear more from Parker's family in the video player below
Noel’s family has created a GoFundMe to help with her funeral and memorial.
Cari’s family tells ABC15 she just moved to Arizona and planned to go to school to be an X-ray technician.
"I was so proud of her. She was so beautiful and so smart and had a big heart and wanted to help people,” said Cheri Forrest, Cari’s mom. "I never thought that she would come out here and never come back again."
The family says Cari was hanging out with her and their friends that night when the three women decided to go to the store and never came back.
Jordan Lee, Cari's brother, also lost his fiancée and the mother of his two kids in the crash.
"I knew from the moment I met her she was the one. She was my soulmate,” Jordan said of Nadia.
The victims' families have set up GoFundMe accounts to help with funeral expenses and care for the children impacted. (Cari Lee, Nadia's children).
According to a post by the Mesa Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9, Nadia was also the daughter of one of their officers. The Mesa FOP also set up a fundraising site to help the family here.
DPS is still investigating whether impairment or medical issues were a factor in the crash.
