According to a report this morning on KPHO.com, Phoenix police responded to a car-truck crash involving a fatality and several injuries. The Phoenix Police Department have reported that a teen driver behind the wheel of a Ford Focus was seen driving erratically down Buckeye Road, swerving in and out of traffic. At the intersection of Buckeye Road and 43rd Street in West Valley, the teen driver failed to stop for a red light and collided with a truck in the intersection.

The police report that a woman riding in the Ford Focus was killed in the car accident. She was dead at the scene. The teen driver and two other passengers in his car were taken to a local hospital. Unconfirmed reports are that a child may have been involved in the accident. The driver of the truck was also taken to the hospital.

The car crash occurred just before 6 a.m. this morning. The Buckeye Road and 43rd Street intersection was closed for several hours while the police investigated the fatal car crash.

Fatal Car Accidents Involving Teens Are Going Down in Arizona

According to 2009 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatal accidents involving young drivers from 15- to 20-years-old decreased drastically in the past five years. In 2005, 210 fatal automobile accidents in Arizona involved drivers aged 15 to 20. In 2009, that number was reduced to 93. Regardless, drivers in that age group still make up a larger share of fatal car accidents than they should - about 1 in 10 fatal car accidents in 2009 was caused by a teen driver.

If you have been injured or a loved one was killed in an automobile accident in or around Phoenix, contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Plattner Verderame, P.C., to discuss your legal rights under Arizona's personal injury and wrongful death laws.

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