Two killed when vehicles collide in Scottsdale

Two motorists died in a fiery hit-and-run collision in south Scottsdale early Monday morning. Police were withholding the identifications of the victims, a man and a woman, pending notification of next of kin, said police spokesman, detective Sam Bailey.

Police identified the driver, a man about 30 years old, but were still trying to identify the passenger, a woman, whose age was unknown. Their relationship was not immediately known.

They were traveling east in a T-top 1970s Datsun 280Z on Thomas Road near 68th Street when they were rear-ended by a second vehicle at about 12:20 a.m., police said.

A witness told police the driver of the second car was driving fast and ran a stoplight on Thomas at 48th Street, Bailey said.

“Then as the witness moved down Thomas toward 60th, he could see in the distance a huge ball of flame,” he said.

Police believe the second car struck the victims’ car, forcing it to leave the road. The 280Z skidded into a parking lot and struck other cars, knocked down a utility pole and struck a fire hydrant.

“Immediately, the car burst into flames, probably ruptured the gas tank,” Bailey said.

The occupants were trapped inside. A would-be rescuer from a nearby business tried to fight the flames with a fire extinguisher, but was unable to get close enough because of the heat.

Several police cruisers arrived within seconds and officers emptied six or seven additional fire extinguishers, but still were unable to reach the victims, Bailey said.

Residents of a nearby apartment complex also tried to give assistance.

The second vehicle stopped in the middle of Thomas, Bailey said.

It was unclear Monday morning what the victims and the second driver had been doing before the collision, Bailey said. It also was unclear where the second driver, a 24-year-old man, was located or how police found him.

The driver of the second car fled on foot, but police were talking to him later Monday morning, Bailey said.

“We classified it as an investigative lead, someone we wanted to talk to relative to the details of what occurred,” he said.

The second driver appeared to be alone in his car at the time of the collision, Bailey said.