3 dead, 2 hurt in fiery crash near I-17 in north Phoenix; driver accused of murder

PHOENIX - A man has been accused of murder a month after he ran a red light, causing a fiery crash in north Phoenix that left three people dead and two others hurt. 

The crash happened just after 11 p.m. on July 3 along Thunderbird Road, west of I-17. When officers got to the scene, they found three cars involved in the crash, with a white Chevrolet Camaro on fire, Phoenix Police said.

Police say the Camaro started a chain-reaction collision with two other vehicles.

Firefighters arrived at the scene, put out the fire and pulled the Camaro's passenger, 21-year-old Esteban Espinoza Lopez, out of the car. Lopez died from his injuries at the hospital.

The driver of the Camaro, 22-year-old Angel Lopez Garcia, was detained and released. He was arrested on Aug. 10 following the release of the toxicology report.

Lopez Garcia is accused of murder. Police say speed and alcohol played a role in the crash.

The driver of a red Chevrolet Traverse that was involved in the crash, 54-year-old Majid Al Juhaishi, was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Tesha Jeffrey, 41, was found lying on the roadway near the crash scene. She died at the scene. Police say Jeffrey was a passenger in the Traverse and was not wearing a seatbelt. She was ejected from the SUV.

A man and a woman who were inside a black Subaru were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators say the Camaro was heading westbound on Thunderbird Road when it ran a red light and crash into the Traverse, which was heading south on the I-17 access road. After the initial impact, the Traverse collided with the black Subaru, which was stopped at a red light.

Area where the crash happened: