Roush hauler involved in fatal wreck
A Roush Racing Busch Series hauler was involved in a fatal collision with a car going the wrong way on Interstate 10 about 50 miles outside of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed Sunday.
Officer Chad Hale of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the accident occurred near Casa Grande, Ariz., at 2:37 a.m. Sunday on the road between Phoenix and Tucson.
"A passenger car crossed over through the median and struck the trailer head-on," Hale said. Roush Racing President Geoff Smith said he was told that the car did not have its lights on when it hit the Roush hauler.
The driver of the car, Eric Rodriguez of Casa Grande, was declared dead at the scene as a result of injuries suffered in the crash, Hale said.
The Roush Racing hauler driver, John Dixon, was not injured, nor was his passenger/co-driver and brother James Dixon, Hale said. There are no charges pending against John Dixon, the officer said. No immediate toxicology reports were available to determine if Rodriguez was drinking, Hale said. The hauler, carrying the Busch Series cars used at California Speedway by Carl Edwards, was on the way to Laredo, Texas, to switch out cars with another Roush hauler carrying road-course cars for the March 5 race at Mexico City.
The team will use the No. 16 Busch Series hauler for the trip to Mexico City. It was scheduled to swap out equipment that was in the No. 60 in Arizona and then swap out for the road course equipment with another Roush hauler in Laredo.
Smith said he didn't know if any of the team's racing equipment was damaged in the accident. The tractor part of the trailer suffered significant damage.
Roush Racing planned to fly the Dixons back to Charlotte, and they will not travel to Mexico as originally planned. Instead, the hauler drivers of the No. 16 truck will go.
