July/August 1998 Vol. 33, No. 8

A trucker, 6 family members, and an Arizona State University student are killed in an I-10 pile-up

A DPS investigation indicates that driver’s fatigue may have played a key role in the July 1 Interstate 10 pileup near Tonopah that saw an east-bound tractor-trailer rig plow into a host of stopped vehicles killing the truck driver and the six persons riding inside a Ford Taurus.

DPS Media Relations Officer Bob Stein said the Taurus was stopped on the interstate when the 18-wheeler, driven by Hugo Barrera, 32, of Los Angeles, slammed into another double-trailer semi pushing the semi and trailers onto the Taurus.

Barrera was killed in the crash along with Las Cruces residents Linda Saar, 42, and her daughter, Jennie Hanson, 21. Also losing their lives were Saar’s daughters, Sara Sechrist, 10, and Sasha Sechrist, 8; and son, Andrew Saar, 3; and Hanson’s son, Isaiah, eight months, who was secured in a child safety seat.

The vehicles were stopped because of an earlier fatal interstate incident in the area which claimed the life of a Northridge, Calif., man changing a flat tire on his vehicle.

During the investigation of the chain-collision wreck, DPS Media Relations Officer Andy Vidaure said investigators have learned that Barrera had driven at least 2½ hours longer than the 10-hour federal limit allowed for truck drivers.

“The lack of skid marks from Barrera’s tractor trailer is a preliminary indication that he may have been asleep at the wheel, or impaired for other reasons,” Vidaure said, adding that DPS investigators are awaiting results of toxicological studies to determine if drugs or alcohol may also have been factors.

The pileup occurred at about 2:20 a.m. after traffic had backed up on the interstate about 40 miles west of Phoenix because of an earlier incident that claimed the life of Daniel Isaac Alazraki, 22, a senior at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Alazraki was struck and killed by a car driven by Dan Decoto, 63 of Mesa. Viduare said Decoto’s vehicle drifted into the emergency lane where Alazraki was changing a tire at about 1:15 a.m. Viduare said no charges have been filed against Decoto, pending further investigation. The DPS media relations officer added that investigators believe fatigue also may have been a factor in that fatal crash.

The incident was the worst fatal crash DPS officers have investigated since Aug. 29, 1995. In that crash seven people were killed after their van rolled over on U.S. 93 north of Kingman.

Dead at the scene:

Linda Saar 12/28/55 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 42 (mother of Jennie, Sara, Sasha & Andrew, grandmother of Isaiah)

Jennie Hanson 11/7/76 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 21 (mother of Isaiah)

Sara Sechrist 3/24/88 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 10

Sasha Sechrist 7/30/90 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 7

Andrew Saar 9/26/94 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 3

Isaiah Hanson 11/12/97 - 7/1/98 of Las Cruces, age 7 months

Hugo Barrera, 32 of Los Angeles - truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel and caused the 2nd accident

Daniel Isaac Alazraki, 22 of Northridge, Ca. - Arizona State University student who died in the 1st accident