Car Accident Sends Three to Hospitals, Driver Arrested on DUI Charges

Camp Verde, Arizona—Three people were transported by air to hospitals following a head-on collision involving three vehicles. The driver of one of the cars was arrested and faces multiple criminal charges.

Sunday evening at about 6:00, the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office received a report of a white Ford pickup truck driving erratically, headed eastbound on State Route 260 from the Cottonwood area.  A citizen pursued the pickup after he observed it crossing the center line, speeding up, then slowing down unexpectedly. 

A deputy spotted the truck, but before he could turn around, the pickup had crossed the center line at Horseshoe Bend Drive and collided head-on with a 2001 Chrysler sedan.  The sedan was occupied by an as-yet unidentified woman, her 12-year-old son and 3-month-old infant.  The woman had to be extricated from her car.  She was then flown to Flagstaff Medical Center in serious but non-life-threatening condition.  Her two children were flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where one was admitted to the ICU.

The truck driver has been identified as Gary Mark, age 64 of Sahuarita, Arizona.  He was transported to Verde Valley Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries.  Upon his release, he was arrested and booked into Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office jail on charges that included aggravated assault, endangerment, driving on a suspended license and aggravated DUI, among others. 

A woman and her four small children in a third vehicle sustained no injuries.   Working together with the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office were the Copper Canyon Fire and Medical Authority emergency crews, Verde Valley Fire District and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  The multi-agency investigation continues.

We wish swift and complete recoveries to those who were injured.