Crash kills UA senior

A UA senior was killed yesterday morning when the car she was driving slammed head-on into a pickup truck on Tucson's far northwest side, authorities said.

Erica Lynn Bowden, 21, was driving southbound on the westside frontage road of Interstate 10, about two miles north of West Tangerine Road, when her red 1995 Plymouth Neon and a white 1987 Isuzu pickup collided head-on about 11 a.m., said Sgt. Bill Derfus, a Marana Police Department spokesman.

Bowden was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and was expecting to graduate in May, Derfus said.

Preliminary evidence indicated that Bowden's car drifted over the center dividing line of the two-lane road and crashed into the northbound pickup, he said.

The driver of the pickup, Bruce Lopeaux, 20, and his wife Juanita Lopeaux, 15, of Marana, were severely injured and taken to University Medical Center, where they were in critical condition last night, Derfus said.

The couple's 8-week-old son, Bruce Lopeaux Jr., was in a child seat and sustained no apparent injuries, Derfus said.

Although everyone involved was wearing a seat belt and Bowden's airbag deployed, it looked as though she was killed instantly, Derfus said.

There were no indications that excessive speed, drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, he said. The speed limit on the road is 55 mph.

"We won't know until we do a mechanical inspection on the vehicle and an autopsy is done if it was a mechanical issue involved or a medical issue," Derfus said. He said a complete investigation is underway.