Victims of Deadly I-17/SR 179 Crash Identified

9/22/22

Authorities have identified four people who died in a fiery crash involving a passenger car and a tractor-tractor near Sedona. Department of Public Safety officials say the victims of Sunday’s crash were 24-year-old Athish Nagarajan and 23-year-old Dhinesh Nagarajan - both of Tempe - and 53-year-old Gnanappan Nagarajan and 45-year-old Vijaya Lakshmi-Gopal who were visiting from India. DPS says the driver of the big rig told DPS troopers that the brakes failed and he couldn’t stop when he got off I-17 at the Sedona exit. DPS says the semi-truck then drove through a stop sign and collided with a car, sending both vehicles down an embankment. DPS says the tractor-trailer landed on top of the car and erupted in flames.