Accident claims life of southbound I-17 driver near Anthem
Staff Report ~ 3/23/2011

A fatal accident southbound on I-17 at Anthem Way caused severe traffic delays for Valley bound motorists shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The driver of the vehicle was killed when the convertible, traveling at a high rate of speed, lost control, travelled off the roadway about 100 yards from the Anthem Way bridge and hit the bridge said Daisy Mountain Fire Department Captain Dave Wilson.
“Unfortunately the driver managed to miss all the barricades that are in place specifically to keep somebody from hitting the bridge,” Wilson said.
Wilson said witnesses attempted to help the driver from the vehicle, but said that the vehicle fire spread too quickly for them to be able to help.
By the time Daisy Mountain Fire arrived on the scene the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. They were unable to save the driver, whose name has not been identified.
The accident caused one southbound lane to be shut near the Anthem Way exit until 6 p.m., causing traffic to be backed up past Black Canyon City, a total of 15 miles.
The accident was the third at the bridge within the last five years although Wilson deemed it simply a coincidence.
About 25 minutes after the initial accident there was a two-vehicle accident on northbound I-17, approximately two miles north of the southbound accident between the Anthem Way and New River Road exits. Wilson said that accident involved one vehicle hitting the back of another vehicle, but didn’t result in any injuries.
“That one caused a minor fire, but we put it out without incident,” he said.