Driver arrested in I-10 crash that left 6 dead

The Arizona Department of Public Safety arrested one of the drivers in a July 2 crash that left six dead on Interstate 10 near Tonopah.

Troopers arrested the surviving driver of the GMC Envoy, Iyona Holton, on Thursday, according to a statement from the department.

About 1:20 p.m. on July 2, the GMC Envoy and a Nissan Altima heading west on I-10 pulled into a dirt median at milepost 82, explicitly marked as a “No U-turn” zone, to turn around on the highway, according to the department.

As the vehicles pulled into the eastbound lanes, a large semitruck smashed into both cars, killing the driver of the Nissan, Natisha Nicole Moffett and her five passengers, and injuring Holton and her four children in the GMC, the department explained. The truck driver was not injured, according to the department.

Holton and her children, a 2-yearold, two 10-year-olds and a 14-year-old, were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to the department.

According to court records, Holton told officers that she had a flat tire and was turning around to get to the eastbound lane where she felt it was safer to deal with the tire.

Holton explained that she called her friend in the Nissan and told her to follow her, and the next thing she knew there was a big truck hitting all of them, the records stated.

Police believe impairment to be a factor in the crash.

Investigators arrested Holton after she was released from the hospital, and she was booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of four counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of dangerous drugs and one count of drug paraphernalia.