At 8:47 p.m., on Thursday, June 4, a two-vehicle wrong way fatal collision occurred on Interstate 40 at Milepost 301 near Holbrook. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the driver of a Chevrolet Impala, Frank Villigan, 85, of Lamar, Mo., became disoriented and drove the wrong way eastbound in the westbound lane on Interstate 40 from Exit 300. The Chevrolet struck a Buick sedan, driven by Corey Apodaca, 28, of Holbrook. Both the driver of the Impala and the driver of the Buick were deceased on scene. The passenger in the Buick, a 10-year-old boy, was pulled from the burning vehicle by two commercial truck drivers who then put out the vehicle fire and remained with the child until emergency personnel arrived. The boy was flown to a Phoenix Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. No seat belts were in use in either vehicle. Investigators believe the driver of the wrong-way vehicle may have suffered a medical episode at the time of the collision.
