Woman in court after fatal wrong-way crash
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A young woman from Wellton, tied to a wrong-way DUI crash that killed a man in the Fortuna Foothills is facing eight felony counts including second-degree murder, appeared in court Tuesday for a case management conference.
22-year-old Kiara Gomez is no longer in custody but is still facing eight felony counts including one count of second-degree murder, and several counts of aggravated DUI tied and driving the wrong way.
The incident happened last September, when Gomez was westbound on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 8, in the area of milepost 12, where she sideswiped a vehicle.
Gomez continued traveling the wrong way and struck another vehicle, this time an SUV head-on, at milepost 10. A gray pickup truck then rear-ended the black SUV.
The driver of the car, Gomez, and the driver of the SUV were taken to a Phoenix hospital. Then the driver of the SUV later died due to his injuries.
Gomez was booked into the Yuma County Jail on Wednesday, January 10.
This isn't Gomez's first run-in with the law. She has two prior traffic-related citations which include exceeding maximum interstate speed outside of an urban area and school zone speed in excess of 15 miles per hour. Both to which she pleaded guilty.
Her next court appearance is set for early March.
