Maricopa man on motorcycle killed in crash Wednesday night on SR 347

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A two-vehicle fatal collision at State Route 347 and Riggs Road Wednesday night took the life of a Maricopa man.

Anthony Valenzuela, 25, of Maricopa, was pronounced dead at the scene after his motorcycle collided with a Jeep Wrangler at Riggs Road and SR 347, according to DPS spokesman Bart Graves. Valenzuela was southbound on SR 347 when he struck a Jeep Wrangler making a left turn from the northbound lanes of SR 347 onto Riggs Road, Graves said.

The driver of the Jeep was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Southbound SR 347 remained closed for several hours while the crash was investigated.

It was the latest in a series of incidents over the past 10 days that have snarled southbound traffic on SR347. Last week, three rush-hour incidents closed the highway and caused major backups: a large truck inadvertently dumped a load of gravel in the middle of the road near Casa Blanca Road; a car was fully engulfed in flames in another incident also near Casa Blanca Road, and another fatal collision occurred at Riggs Road.