2 dead, 4 hurt in wreck near Tonopah

A chain reaction of accidents near Tonopah that involved three vehicles Sunday morning resulted in two deaths and four injuries, said Arizona Department of Public Safety officials.

Authorities have identified the decesed victims as Deborah Lou Oshaughnessy, 50, of Fontana, Calif., and Matthew Aaron Bachrach 31, of Queen Creek, in the early morning wreck on Interstate 10 at milepost 85.

Officer Robert L. Bailey, a DPS spokesman, said the incident began about 3:44 a.m., when a commercial tractor trailer traveling east on the I-10 veered off the roadway, into the left dirt shoulder and then corrected back onto the road before rolling over on its right side.

Bailey said the tractor trailer came to rest in the center of the median with a portion of the vehicle exposed in the left lane. The driver was Alfred Simister, 40, and the passenger was Donovan McFarland, 41. Both men, whose hometowns were unknown, were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

A Maroon Ford Explorer that was traveling east on the I-10 in the left lane tried to avoid the tractor trailer, but the two vehicles ended up colliding, Bailey said. After the collision, the sports-utility vehicle rolled over, partially ejecting the right-front passenger, Oshaughnessy, who officers declared dead on scene.

The driver, David Scow, 19, and rear passenger, Donald Allan Scow, 52, were both taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. They are both from Fontana, Calif.

Officers reported that a Silver Chevrolet Corvette also eastbound in the left lane struck the tractor trailer. The driver, Bachrach, who was the sole occupant, was dead on scene.

The I-10 eastbound was closed off at exit 81 and diverted onto Courthouse Road then back on at exit 94, from 4 to 10 a.m., causing some traffic backup.

The collision is still under active investigation.