A man has been arrested and charged in the Memorial Day weekend head-on crash that killed three Mesa residents on State Route 87 near Fountain Hills.

Jose Serrano-Orduno is accused of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and endangerment, authorities said.

The collision occurred Sunday morning, May 26, on SR 87, also known as the Beeline Highway, about a mile south of Shea Boulevard.

Witnesses in a third vehicle reported to Arizona Department of Public Safety officers that their vehicle had to veer onto the shoulder to avoid the wrong-way driver traveling in a Chevy Avalanche. They looked back and noticed that headlights from another vehicle, a Ford F-150, had disappeared after the Avalanche had passed.

Serrano-Orduno sustained serious injuries in the collision and remained hospitalized. He was arrested and booked after he was discharged, according to DPS officials who said impairment is suspected in the crash.

The woman driving the Ford F-150 that was hit by the Avalanche also sustained serious injuries.

Three passengers in the F-150 - Victor Perez Coralles, 25, Emilia Rodriquez, 42, and Jesus Guadalupe Nunez-Rodriquez, 26, all of Mesa - died at the scene.

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