Sierra Vista, AZ (July 29, 2026) – A pickup truck driver was airlifted to a Tucson hospital with life-threatening injuries after running a red light and colliding with a tow truck at Highway 92 and Buffalo Soldier Trail Tuesday morning, July 28, according to Sierra Vista police. The driver was turning left from northbound Highway 92 around 10:40 a.m. when he ran the light and struck the southbound tow truck.
The tow truck driver did not require transport. No citations had been issued as of this report.
Traffic was blocked at the intersection while crews worked. The investigation remains ongoing. We hope the injured driver has a full recovery.
Why May Left Turns at Red Lights Lead to Serious Crashes?
Running a red light while turning left combines two of the riskiest maneuvers into a single moment: crossing oncoming lanes and disregarding a signal meant to keep that path clear. A driver going through the light has little reason to expect cross traffic and has minimal time to react.
Speed differences at that moment matter too. A vehicle traveling straight through a green light is typically moving at full intersection speed, while a turning vehicle is still accelerating, which can affect how the two vehicles come together.
Investigators generally look at signal timing, witness accounts, and any available camera footage to establish exactly when the light changed relative to each driver’s position. This kind of timeline is central to determining what happened and who had the right-of-way in a crash like this one.
