12 News reported that a fatal collision shut down lanes of Interstate 10 near Buckeye. According to the report, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the collision involved at least two vehicles. No further details about how the collision occurred have been reported, and no determination of fault has been announced.
When someone dies in an Arizona highway collision, the claim that follows is not the deceased person's; it belongs to a defined group of survivors. Under A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613, a wrongful death action may be brought by the surviving spouse, a child, a parent or guardian, or the personal representative of the estate, and the damages belong to those statutory beneficiaries rather than to the estate's creditors. Recoverable losses include lost future earnings and benefits, lost companionship, guidance and affection, funeral and burial expenses, and the survivors' own grief and anguish. A separate survival action under A.R.S. § 14-3110 covers what the decedent lost before death, such as medical bills and pre-death pain. The deadline is generally two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, measured from the date of death. If a government entity or employee is involved, a written notice of claim is due within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01.
Fault Is Divided, Not Assigned to One Driver
Multi-vehicle collisions rarely resolve into a single blameworthy driver. Arizona uses pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505, which means a jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility and reduces that party's recovery by its own share. There is no cutoff; a family found to bear a majority of the fault still recovers the remaining percentage. This matters for two reasons. First, an insurer that tells a family the decedent was mostly responsible is not describing a bar to recovery, only a reduction. Second, when more than two vehicles are involved, there may be several insurance policies in play, and the percentages have to be sorted out among all of them.
Arizona law also requires drivers involved in a collision resulting in death or injury to stop and remain at the scene under A.R.S. § 28-661. If an investigation identifies a driver who left, that is a separate criminal matter, and it does not change the civil deadlines that apply to the family.
What a DPS Investigation Does and Does Not Decide
When the Department of Public Safety investigates a fatal collision on an interstate, it is building a criminal and administrative record. That work can take weeks or longer, and families are often told very little while it is open. A few points to keep in mind:
- A police or DPS conclusion about fault is evidence in a civil case, not a verdict. Civil liability is decided separately and under a lower standard of proof.
- Citations and criminal charges are allegations until a court resolves them. A family does not need to wait for a conviction to pursue a civil claim.
- The full report, including scene measurements, vehicle data and any reconstruction, is usually the single most valuable document available, and it often must be requested formally once the investigation closes.
Waiting for the report before doing anything is the common mistake. The two-year clock under A.R.S. § 12-542 runs regardless of how long an agency takes.
Practical Steps in the First Few Weeks
Nothing on this list needs to happen today. But each one gets harder with time.
- Open a probate estate if needed. If no surviving spouse, child or parent will bring the claim, a personal representative must be appointed before a wrongful death action can be filed.
- Preserve the vehicle. Do not authorize a salvage yard to crush or sell it. Event data recorders, crush patterns and restraint systems can be examined only while the vehicle exists.
- Write down who contacts you. Insurers for other drivers may call early. You are not obligated to give a recorded statement, and you should not guess at facts you do not know.
- Keep every expense. Funeral and burial costs, travel, time off work and medical bills incurred before death all belong in the claim.
- Identify all available coverage. This includes the other drivers' liability policies, any commercial policy if a vehicle was being used for work, and the decedent's own underinsured motorist coverage.
If your family lost someone in a collision on Interstate 10 in this area, our Buckeye wrongful death attorneys can explain what the statutes require and what the next step looks like.