Traffic was rerouted through Holbrook and backed up for four hours following a fatal accident that occurred Sunday on eastbound Interstate 40.
According to the Department of Public Safety, at approximately 12:49 p.m. on Nov. 29, a commercial vehicle was traveling west on I-40 near milepost 288 when a tire failure occurred, sending the vehicle into the median and across to the eastbound lane where it struck a Mazda passenger car, continued into the eastbound shoulder and rolled onto its right side..
The two occupants of the car, Norma J. Tinstman, 67, and William Tinstman, 66, both of Omaha, Neb., were dead at the scene. The driver of the commercial vehicle was transported to Little Colorado Medical Center in Winslow for treatment of minor injuries.
Due to the accident, the eastbound lanes were closed and interstate traffic was rerouted through Holbrook at the east end of town and back onto the interstate at the far west end of town, creating slow traffic congestion for at least five miles along the interstate until the lanes reopened at approximately 5 p.m.
