The 20-year-old defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated assault.
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — A drunk driver who caused a crash in Maricopa that killed a 21-year-old woman has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Chelsea Edwards, 20, was sentenced Friday in Pinal County after a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated assault.
The defendant was driving near Fanner Drive and Ralston Road on November 27, 2022, when his car struck the rear of a truck, which then veered into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle.
A young woman was ejected from one of the vehicles and died from her injuries. Another person was also seriously injured.
The Pinal County Attorney’s Office said Edwards was driving 190 mph in an area with a 45 mph speed limit.
Edwards, who was 19 at the time, had a blood alcohol level of 0.13, nearly twice the state legal limit. Defendant further admitted that he had smoked marijuana prior to the accident.
“This tragic incident is another example of what can happen when an impaired person chooses to drive,” Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer said in a statement.
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Locals refer to the Phoenix metropolitan area as “The Valley.” It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
In addition to Phoenix, the Valley is made up of a variety of other major cities, including:
- mesa
- chandler
- scottsdale
- Tempe
- glendale
- surprise
- Peoria
- gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Lichfield Park
- goodyear
- buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where the city is in relation to Phoenix.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the total population of Valley cities is 4,845,832. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country, behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How large is Maricopa County?
According to the 2020 Census, Maricopa County is the fourth largest county in the United States with a population of 4,485,414 people.
The county contains approximately 63% of Arizona’s population and covers an area of 9,224 square miles. This makes the county larger than seven U.S. states: Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
One of the largest park systems in the United States is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks, including hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers, and campgrounds.
The county seat is Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the fifth most populous city in the United States according to the census.
The county is named after the Maricopa or Piipaash Native American tribe.
