Wrong-way driver who killed Mesa officer was drunk, DPS says
The blood-alcohol level of a wrong-way driver was three times the legal limit when he killed himself and an off-duty Mesa police officer in a head-on collision earlier this week on a Valley freeway, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Officer Carrick Cook, a DPS spokesman, said Thursday that Raul Silva-Corona's blood-alcohol content was .24 percent. A driver is presumed to be legally drunk in Arizona at .08 percent.
Silva-Corona, 42, collided with Officer Brandon Mendoza after driving more than 30 miles in the wrong direction on Valley freeways early Monday morning. Mendoza, 32, had just finished a patrol shift and was driving toward his Phoenix home when he was killed.
A funeral mass for Mendoza is set for Friday.
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Conflicting information from 911 callers made it difficult for highway patrol officers to track down Silva-Corona's SUV, Cook said. At one point, a DPS officer slowed traffic on Arizona 51 and tried to ram the SUV near Thomas Road, but Silva-Corona swerved and continued on, records showed.
The department on Thursday released radio transmissions between dispatchers and highway patrol officers minutes before the fatal crash.
Vigil for Officer Mendoza
One dispatcher told units the driver was going the wrong way on southbound Loop 101. When an officer asked for clarification, the dispatcher said the SUV was driving northbound in the southbound lanes. Shortly after, a dispatcher said the driver was going southbound in a northbound lane.
"Wait a minute, I'm a little confused," an officer said. "Is it still in Metro East or has it made its way through central and over on Metro West?"
Another officer also asked for clarity: "Some confusion on what's being called and what's being broadcast. Is it SB on 51 now?"
Officer killed in wrong-way crash
The dispatcher relied on cameras from the Arizona Department of Transportation to direct officers. But both the cameras and responding officers lost sight of Silva-Corona when he approached where SR 51 connects with Interstate 10.
The head-on collision occurred on a ramp linking U.S. 60 to I-10.
Also Thursday, federal officials confirmed Silva-Corona was in the country illegally. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he was a native of Chihuahua, Mexico.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.