Payson Roundup

Snowy conditions along the Beeline Highway over the weekend created a 10-car pileup, a fatal rollover and diverted southbound travelers through Globe for more than three hours.

One woman was killed and several people were injured in a series of collisions along north and south Highway 87 at milepost 217, 33 miles south of Payson Sunday evening, said DPS Officer Jimmy Oestmann.

Around 4:30 p.m., a vehicle heading north went off the road at milepost 217 and rolled, killing the female passenger. The male driver, who was not critically injured, was taken to a Valley hospital, Oestmann said. The female’s name and age have not been released.

Around the same time, but in the southbound lanes, around 10 vehicles collided creating a massive pileup for five DPS officers.

“There were several additional collisions because of the wreck and wet road further north,” Oestmann said.

“There were multiple vehicles off the road, including a large truck that tipped over.”

No one was seriously injured in the pileup or subsequent collisions, he said. Due to the number of collisions, DPS closed southbound Highway 87 at 5:30 p.m. at the Highway 188 junction, diverting traffic through Globe. Southbound lanes were reopened at 8 p.m.

Oestmann said weather and high speeds caused most of the collisions.

“People need to slow down, plan ahead and add a little more time to their trip,” he said. “Most of these would not occur if people slowed down.”

“We have reports of black ice along several northern Arizona highways. We ask drivers to proceed with caution,” a DPS press release states.