Two dead, two injured in crash on State Route 77 near Wilds Road

The deadly crash on State Route 77 near Wilds Road disrupted a major route between Tucson and communities north of the city Monday, while leaving a Tucson landscaping crew facing the loss of one employee and serious injuries to two others. Two people died at the scene, and two people were taken to a hospital with serious injuries after a collision involving a sedan and landscaping trucks on southbound Oracle Road, also known as State Route 77.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety received word of the crash at approximately 6:15 a.m. The collision occurred at milepost 85, near East Wild Road, just north of Oro Valley. According to information released by DPS, two people were pronounced dead at the scene. The identities of those killed had not been released, and authorities had not provided a further update on the conditions of the injured.

AAA Landscape confirmed that one of the people killed was part of its Tucson crew. The company said the workers were traveling to a job site when a vehicle coming from the opposite direction lost control and struck their vehicle. Two other AAA Landscape employees were injured and hospitalized, according to the company. AAA Landscape said it would not provide additional details while the families dealt with the loss.

The company described the workers as members of its broader workplace family and said the crash had affected employees throughout the business. Its statement expressed grief over the death and injuries but did not identify the victims. The company also declined to discuss more about the circumstances, citing respect for the employees and their relatives.

Details about the collision remained limited as the investigation continued. Reports described the crash as involving a sedan and one or more landscaping trucks. The sedan became lodged beneath one of the trucks, and the vehicle was so severely damaged that its make and model were difficult to determine. Authorities had not said what caused the sedan to lose control, whether speed or another factor contributed, or whether any citations had been issued.

The crash closed the southbound lanes for much of Monday as DPS troopers, emergency crews and the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner worked at the scene. The closure extended between East Wild Road and East Golder Ranch Drive, affecting drivers traveling toward Oro Valley and Tucson. The Pima County Sheriff's Department assisted DPS with the response and traffic control, while Golder Ranch Fire District and Oracle Fire were among the agencies that responded.

Drivers were encouraged to avoid the area and use North Bowman Road and North Lago del Oro Parkway as alternate routes while the investigation was underway. Southbound Oracle Road reopened at approximately 2:30 p.m., according to reporting from the scene. The extended closure reflected the severity of the wreck and the amount of time needed to document the collision, remove the vehicles and complete the medical examiner's work.

People who live near the highway said the emergency response was unusually large and prolonged. George Bidwell, who lives nearby, said he began hearing sirens shortly after 6 a.m. and continued hearing emergency vehicles for about half an hour. He said crashes have happened on that portion of Oracle Road before, but he had not seen or heard of one as severe as Monday's. He also noted that the landscaping workers were simply traveling to work, a routine trip that became fatal.

The crash adds to the history of deadly incidents on this northbound and southbound corridor. In May, a separate two vehicle crash at milepost 96 near Biosphere Road in Oracle blocked State Route 77. That wreck killed the only occupant of one vehicle, while a person in the other vehicle was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life threatening. The roadway reopened later that morning. Other fatal incidents, including a deadly rollover near Oracle Junction, have also led to closures on the highway.

As of Monday, DPS had not released a determination about the cause of the Wilds Road crash, and officials had not announced the names of those who died. Investigators were expected to continue reviewing the scene and the vehicles involved before providing additional findings. For Tucson area residents who use Oracle Road for commuting, business or trips to the northern communities, the incident was both a major traffic interruption and a reminder of the risks faced by workers and other travelers on the regional highway.