State Glance
1 tribal firefighter killed, 2nd injured in ambulance crash
SCOTTSDALE — One Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community firefighter was killed and a second critically injured when their ambulance collided with a tractor-trailer rig, officials said.
Firefighter Brendon Bessee was killed and Firefighter Tyler Packer was critically injured in the wreck Friday on State Route 87 on the tribe’s reservation on the east side of metro Phoenix, tribal President Martin Harvier said in a statement Saturday.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the truck’s driver had minor injuries and that the wreck occurred after the ambulance turned onto the highway while responding to a 911 call, azfamily.com reported. Cause of the crash was under investigation, the DPS said.
Video posted by azfamily.com showed the ambulance’s cab sitting upright but sheared from the rest of the vehicle.
Harvier said Bessee and Packer were recent transfers to the tribal fire department. A procession Saturday evening was to take Bessee home to Globe.
Douglas teen pleads guilty in migrant transport case
SIERRA VISTA, — A 14-year-old Douglas boy has pleaded guilty to juvenile charges stemming from a March incident in which authorities said he backed up into a Border Patrol vehicle while driving two migrants who’d entered the country illegally.
The boy, who previously was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty recently in juvenile court to felony fleeing and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, said Deputy County Attorney Doyle Johnstun.
Johnstun said the boy’s sentencing was set for April 18 and that there is a stipulation that he be sent to the state Department of Juvenile Corrections. The agency can hold juveniles until they turn 18.
The Associated Press generally does not identify juvenile crime defendants and suspects.
At the time of the boy’s March 4 arrest, Cochise County officials believed he was the youngest so-called load driver arrested in the county. However, an even younger 14-year-old was recently arrested while allegedly trying to illegally ferry migrants in the country illegally. the Herald-Review reported.
Load car drivers are often recruited by Mexican cartels via social media to transport migrants to cities such as Tucson and Phoenix. Cochise County officials consider load drivers to be public safety hazards because they drive fast and are told to avoid police.
Ex-Arizona lawmaker remembered as dedicated public servant
KAYENTA — Funeral services were held Friday for a former Arizona state representative from the Navajo Nation.
Daniel Peaches died Tuesday, the Navajo Nation
Council said in a statement. Peaches’ son told The Associated Press that his father died from cancer. He was 82. Peaches was elected to the state House in 1974 as a Republican and served five terms before he lost a bid for reelection in 1984, according to legislative records.
Peaches’ legislative service somewhat overlapped with employment in the tribal government under former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald. Peaches also served for decades on Northland Pioneer College’s governing board and was appointed by former President Richard Nixon as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education.
Peaches held various other roles in tribal government and within his community of Kayenta.
His funeral services were held in nearby Black Mesa. He was remembered as a loving father, grandfather and husband, and as someone who was revered in his community as a medicine man and a public servant.