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Victim ID’d in fatal head-on crash near casino; other driver in critical condition

Ak-Chin Police block John Wayne Parkway at Ak-Chin Parkway following a fatal crash. Sept. 19, 2025. [Submitted]

Authorities this morning identified the man killed in Friday night’s head-on crash near the casino on John Wayne Parkway as 55-year-old Jose de Jesus Montoya Munoz.

According to preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation, Munoz was traveling southbound in a Ford F-150 in the proper southbound lanes of John Wayne Parkway when another vehicle entered the roadway traveling northbound in the same lanes.

That vehicle, driven by 61-year-old Masoumeh Hemati, struck Munoz’s truck head-on near Sonoran Desert Parkway. Munoz died at the scene.

Hemati was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she remains in critical condition as of this morning, authorities said.

Public records suggest Hemati lives in Glendale. She admitted to running a red light last year in Scottsdale and has nothing else on her traffic or criminal record.

Investigators have not yet determined whether impairment played a role in the crash, which remains under active investigation by the Pinal County Vehicular Crimes Unit.

The collision shut down portions of John Wayne Parkway near the casino for several hours Friday night as emergency crews responded.

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