Phoenix, United States - December 27, 2025 12/27/2025 02:32 am GMT-0700 MESA, Ariz. – According to information gathered at the scene, troopers with the Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to reports of a wrong-way driver on the Red Mountain Loop 202 near Val Vista Drive shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. The driver was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes. As troopers were en route to the incident, the Highway Patrol Traffic Operation Center (HPTOC) observed a fiery head-on collision via a freeway camera just east of the McDowell Road and Gilbert Road exit involving a vehicle matching the description of the wrong-way driver. Mesa firefighters were dispatched to the scene and extinguished both passenger cars, which were fully engulfed in flames. At this time, the number of injured occupants is unknown. Troopers have closed the eastbound lanes of the Red Mountain 202 starting at the Gilbert Road and McDowell Road exit ramp. The closure was expected to last several hours as troopers conducted a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash.