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Phoenix driver faces charges after wrong-way collision kills 10-year-old
A 10-year-old girl died after a pickup truck traveling the wrong way struck her family’s car near 18th and Washington streets. The driver, Richard Blackstar, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated assault; court documents say his blood-alcohol level was .181.
A 10-year-old girl died the day after a wrong-way crash in central Phoenix, and her mother remained in critical condition, according to court records and information released after the Oct. 14 collision.
Richard Blackstar, 59, was driving a pickup truck the wrong way on Washington Street when it hit a Nissan Sentra shortly after 11 a.m. near 18th Street, court documents allege. The girl was riding in the Sentra, which her mother was driving. The child was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died Oct. 15.
Blackstar was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Court documents say he acknowledged drinking before the crash and recorded a blood-alcohol level of .181 — more than twice Arizona’s .08 legal limit for most drivers.
He was held on a $250,000 cash bond. His next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 21. The girl and her mother have not been publicly identified.