Crash victim's stepmother advocates for more safety along I-10 near Tonopah

Victim's stepmother wants median barrier along highway

TONOPAH, Ariz. - Four people were killed during a string of crashes two weeks ago and one Valley woman was afraid something like this would happen again after her stepson was killed on the same stretch of road.

Cathy Palomarez hopes improvements will save lives in the future.

"He was just so young."

Palomarez remembers her stepson, Julian Flores as a sweet kid who enjoyed playing games with his stepbrother and was very active.

"You know, he loved sports. He was just a regular kid growing up, and this had to happen," she said.

Julian Flores

Cathy is referring to the crash in July 2012 that took the life of 12-year-old Julian and six other family members, including four children.

"He was coming with his family to Phoenix. They're from Parker, Arizona and they were just driving to go school shopping and a semi just passed the median and hit them head-on and it killed them all."

The family was traveling along I-10 near Tonopah at the time. A stretch of roadway that haunts Cathy and has also been the site of more fatal crashes and other serious wrecks over the years – including the most recent crash that killed four people on March 1.

Cathy says that stretch of I-10 has too many potholes, and needs a barrier between the westbound and eastbound lanes.

"If they had a barrier in between, you know, the roads there going west and then east, it would've prevented that semi from crossing that path there."

What's next:

The Arizona Department of Transportation is scheduled to start roadwork on I-10 between Salome Road and Tonopah this Spring.

The project includes improvements to the road itself, as well as bridge repairs, but does not mention any median barrier.

Julian, who would be 24 years old now, remains Cathy's motivation for speaking out about needed changes on the interstate.

"It's hard, but there's nothing more to do than move on and all we can think about is just a memory of him."

The Arizona Department of Public Safety says investigators are still working to determine if the blowing dust and wind on March 1 were factors in the fatal pileup.

FOX 10 reached out to ADOT to find out if there are any future plans to place a median barrier along I-10 near Tonopah. We haven't received a response at this time.