Crash near casino kills 2, hurts 6

Two people died and six more were hurt early Monday morning in a one-car crash on Interstate 19 north of Green Valley.

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Quentin G. Mehr said both victims weren’t wearing seat belts.

Some of the other injured also weren’t wearing safety belts.

The police report said that about 2 a.m. Monday a 2003 Ford Expedition driving north from the Sonora, Mexico, area to Tucson ran off the road into the median near Pima Mine Road, near Desert Diamond Casino.

The driver, Erika Imelda Soto, 30, of Tucson apparently tried to correct and then crossed back over the northbound lanes and hit a tree.

Killed were Idalia Montano, 34, from Tucson, and Margarita Gonzalez Leon, 55, from Hermosillo.

Also on board and injured were driver Soto, wearing a safety belt; Guadalupe Soto, 50, Tucson, not wearing a seat belt; Yesenia Gallego, 10, Tucson, not wearing a safety belt, Jocelyne Loya-Soto, 11, from Tucson, not wearing a belt, Arianna Loya, 4, Tucson, not properly restrained in a child’s safety seat, and Yalexis Diaz-Soto, 1, Tucson, not properly restrained in a child’s safety seat.

Officer Mehr said Tuesday the cause of the crash was still under investigation.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749

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