UPDATE 6:16 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024 All lanes of Interstate 10 have reopened in both directions between Riggs and Casa Blanca Roads, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024 Eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 between Riggs and Casa Blanca Roads reopened for traffic this afternoon, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

About 8 miles of the highway was closed for at least four hours this afternoon after a fatal crash left two people dead and two more injured. A box truck struck four vehicles two miles south of Riggs Road, which sent it and another truck into the median where they caught fire.

The drivers of the two trucks died in the fire; there were no passengers in either vehicle.

While an initial report said the victims involved two male drivers, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves said they were “not completely certain as to the sex of both fatalities.”

Other vehicles involved in the collision carried passengers, but it is not known if more people were injured.

Westbound lanes remain closed.

UPDATE 1:59 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024 Two men are dead and at least two more injured following a fiery scene on Interstate 10 this afternoon.

At 12:09 p.m., westbound traffic began to slow on the highway near milepost 169 when a two-axle box truck struck a pickup truck and three other vehicles, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves told InMaricopa.

The collision pushed both trucks into the median where they caught fire. The two male drivers were pronounced dead on scene; there were no passengers in either vehicle.

Drivers in two other vehicles struck by the box truck were transported to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of a tractor-trailer also struck was not injured.

East and westbound traffic remains closed at this time, Graves said.

ORIGINAL STORY 1:39 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024 A four-vehicle crash this afternoon killed multiple people and closed Interstate 10 for more than 8 miles in both directions.

The crash occurred on Interstate 10 about 2 miles south of Riggs Road around 12:30 p.m.

While the cause of the crash is unknown, two people were reported dead, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves.

Photographs from the scene showed two vehicles in a ditch. One was upside-down and a private company was using a tow crane to flip over and haul away the wreckage.

East and westbound lanes are closed between Riggs and Casa Blanca Roads.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said motorists should “expect delays and seek an alternate route,” but did not specify when the road will reopen.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.