A Gilbert mother and her 12-year-old daughter were killed Tuesday when a truck collided with their car.
The 30-year-old woman driving a 2004 Honda Accord 4-door sedan and her daughter, who was in the passenger seat, exited Loop 202, Santan Freeway, westbound and turned right onto Williams Field Road about 10:30 a.m., when they were T-boned by a westbound 2002 Ford F-350 crew cab pickup truck, said Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Duncan.
The names of the mother and daughter have not been released.
“The driver was killed instantly and the passenger was not breathing and was pronounced dead at the scene,” said Gilbert fire division Chief Mark Smith.
Smith said paramedics tried to help the girl, but she died shortly after the crash.
The driver of the truck, David Oliver, 39, of Gilbert, was not injured, Smith said.
“The truck tried to swerve to avoid striking the passenger car, which was just beginning to make a right-hand turn,” Duncan said.
Kenny Lyon, of Tonopah, said he was driving eastbound on Williams Field Road to a funeral when he saw the crash.
“I was sitting there at the red light and I ran over to see if I could find a pulse or breathing,” Lyon said, “but it was too late.”
Lyon said the car slid about 200 feet after it was struck and that horse pellet feed from the truck was scattered all over the street.
He said Oliver “had a look of concern on his face” and “dropped his head in sadness” when he saw the severely injured woman and child.
Duncan said investigators are trying to figure out the status of the traffic lights at the time of the crash and how fast Oliver was traveling.
Westbound streets near the intersection were closed about six hours.
