A serious motorcycle crash shut down the northbound lanes of I-17 near Bethany Home Road in central Phoenix early Saturday morning, leaving commuters facing a several-hour closure before the freeway reopened shortly before 7 a.m.
Arizona Department of Public Safety investigators were still working to sort out what caused the crash. At least one person was taken to the hospital, but the person's condition was not known at the time of the report.
Arizona's Family crews saw a motorcycle lying in the middle of the freeway, and video showed a badly burned motorcycle alongside a vehicle with severe rear-end damage being loaded onto a tow truck. Crews also swept debris from the roadway as the scene was cleared.
The closure affected only the northbound lanes. Southbound traffic was not affected, and the reopening came after hours of disruption on one of central Phoenix's busiest freeway corridors. The unanswered questions are the ones that matter now: what caused the crash, and how badly was the hospitalized rider hurt?
