A 52-year-old man was killed early Sunday when a speeding Dodge Durango rear-ended his car on Tucson’s south side, sending the SUV careening across several lanes before it slammed into a power pole. Police said the driver of the Durango, identified as Ira Jesus Chavez, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, and investigators later found evidence of alcohol consumption inside his vehicle.
The crash happened around 3:45 a.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of West Valencia Road, just east of South Mission Road, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Chavez was driving the 2015 Dodge Durango east on Valencia when he rear-ended a 2018 Nissan Maxima, police said. After the impact, the Durango crossed several lanes of the roadway before striking a nearby power pole. The driver of the Nissan suffered only minor injuries, while Chavez was killed.
Investigators said Chavez was speeding at the time of the collision, and police continue to investigate exactly what led up to the crash. The discovery of alcohol evidence inside the Durango raises the possibility of impaired driving, though it remains unclear whether Chavez’s blood-alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limit. Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-1381, it is illegal to operate a vehicle while impaired to even the slightest degree by alcohol, with a standard legal limit of 0.08%, per the Arizona Department of Transportation.
A Seatbelt That Wasn’t Buckled
Police said Chavez was not wearing his seatbelt when the Durango struck the Nissan and then the power pole. Arizona law requires all front-seat occupants in vehicles manufactured after 1972 to wear seatbelts while the vehicle is in motion, under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-909, according to the Phillips Law Group. That detail fits a troubling statewide pattern: more than 25% of all motor vehicle fatality victims in Arizona during 2024 were unbuckled at the time of impact, according to data published by the Arizona Department of Public Safety…