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Richard Blackstar is accused of second-degree murder after a wrong-way crash in downtown Phoenix killed a 10-year-old girl.
Phoenix police say Blackstar, 59, was driving the wrong way on one-way Washington Street on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, when his pickup hit a Nissan Sentra near 18th Street. A 10-year-old passenger died the next day and her mother remains in critical condition, FOX 10 Phoenix and azfamily reported.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
The number driving this case is .181, the blood-alcohol level court papers attribute to Blackstar, more than twice the legal limit. Arizona prosecutors charge second-degree murder in DUI deaths when they believe a driver knew the risk and drove anyway, and his own reported statements to police will be at the center of that fight.
Richard Blackstar, 59, was booked into jail on one count of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault after a wrong-way crash near 18th and Washington streets in Phoenix, FOX 10 Phoenix and azfamily reported. He is being held on a $250,000 cash bond.
According to court documents described by both outlets, the crash happened shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. Investigators say surveillance video from a nearby business shows Blackstar's Chevrolet Silverado speeding east in the westbound-only lanes of Washington Street as a Nissan Sentra entered the intersection on a green light. A 10-year-old girl riding in the Sentra was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died the next day. Her mother remains in critical condition. Police have not released either victim's name.
Court paperwork says Blackstar's blood-alcohol level was .181, more than twice the legal limit, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. Azfamily reported that Blackstar, who was also hospitalized with serious injuries, told police he drank two to three hard seltzers between 7 and 8:30 a.m. that morning and believed he was heading west on Van Buren Street toward a Circle K. Van Buren runs north of Washington Street, where the crash happened. He was released from the hospital Thursday and booked into jail.
Azfamily reported that court records show prior arrests for Blackstar in Flagstaff, including disorderly conduct, assault and driving on a suspended or revoked license. A charge is not a conviction, and none of the allegations has been tested in court. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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