February 27, 2024

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a DUI crash in Cottonwood early Saturday morning, with a second suspect arrested after trying to drive through the closed emergency scene.

YCSO says a deputy noticed a car speeding and crossing back and forth over the center line on Main Street around 2:00 a.m. When the driver, later identified as a 22-year-old Cottonwood man, turned onto Highway 260, the deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop.

At that point, the driver turned off their lights and accelerated up to 100 miles per hour. A few seconds later, the car failed to negotiate a turn, slid off the road and went down a 200-foot slope; with the driver ejected about halfway down the embankment.

Deputies called for a medical helicopter and closed the highway. While medical personnel were taking the victim to the aircraft, which had landed on the road, deputies saw a vehicle trying to get through the closed scene on the shoulder, past the emergency vehicles and the running helicopter.

They were finally able to stop the car, and arrested the driver, a 51-year-old Camp Verde man, on suspicion of DUI.

Josh Freeman | KAZM News Director | josh@mellowmountainradio.com