Arizona Wrong-Way Driving: Man In Custody After Killing One

A Black Canyon City man is under arrest, charged with DUI and vehicular homicide after the sheriff's office says he drove the wrong way on Interstate 17 south on Sunday, causing several crashes. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office has 76-year-old Darroll Wayne Roberts in custody.

Officials say that Roberts started driving northbound on the southbound part of I-17 around 3 p.m., sideswiping several cars before crashing into a motorcyclist.

He was driving a red Chevy SUV at a high rate of speed and managed to continue another two miles from the first crash before he finally stopped.

Cindy Lee Meade, 50, of Phoenix, was pronounced dead at the scene. (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

The interstate was closed for nearly five hours.

Last month, Arizona announced that it is moving ahead with a first-in-the-nation program to end wrong-way driving through thermal detection. The announcement by the state's department of transportation came one week after a crash involving a wrong-way driver left two dead.

The system will be installed on I-17 and alert other drivers and law enforcement of wrong way drivers.

The system will take a three-phase approach when a wrong-way vehicle is detected: alerting wrong-way drivers so they can self-correct, warning right-way drivers and notifying law enforcement

Governor Ducey - prompted by the crash - had called for swift action to get thermal cameras installed as quickly as possible.

"The state must also take action to more seriously address the issue of wrong-way driving," Ducey said last week. "I have specifically ordered that the planned launch of thermal camera detection technology be expedited.

"I want those cameras implemented as quickly as possible, and expanded to as many areas as possible where they may make a difference and save a life."

Photo Yavapai County Sheriff's Office