GV man dies in wreck: Daughter suffers injuries in Interstate 19 accident

A 38-year-old Green Valley man was killed Thursday in a head-on collision with a pickup truck going the wrong way on the northbound Interstate 19, an official said.

The collision occurred at 9:28 a.m. between the Duval Mine and Sahuarita Road exits at milepost 44.6, shutting down northbound traffic for nearly three hours.

Don Carlos Nolette was pronounced dead at the scene and his 9-year-old daughter, Danielle Nolette, was airlifted to University Medical Center with critical injuries, said Quentin Mehr, public information officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Both were ejected from their Volkswagon Jetta when it was struck by the Ford F-150 traveling south in the northbound lane. They were not wearing seat belts, Mehr said.

Continental school officials say Danielle is a former student in the 4th grade who switched out of the district in August. Information was not available on her father at press time.

The 70-year-old man driving the F-150, Donniea Perry, and wife Shirley Perry, 63, of Yuma, Colo., were taken to UMC with non life-threatening injuries, Mehr said.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said Thursday night they were still investigating the cause of the crash and were uncertain why the truck was traveling in the wrong direction.

Traffic was diverted at the Duval Mine Road exit and detoured to Nogales Highway until 12:30 p.m., when the interstate was reopened.

The DPS along with the Sahuarita Police Department, the Green Valley Fire District and Rural/Metro Fire Department all responded to the accident.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726

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