Two Show Low girls lose their lives in one-vehicle collision

Five young women from Show Low decided to spend an afternoon swimming at Clear Creek, a popular location to cool off on a hot summer day.

Unfortunately, a day of fun ended in tragedy when the bright red ’98 GMC Jimmy flipped, killing the driver, Megan Boles, who had just turned 20.

“Basically, they had just left the creek—they’d been swimming down there, and probably hadn’t made it a mile from where they came out from the creek,” said DPS Officer Tom Neve. “They failed to negotiate a curve to the left, resulting in the vehicle swerving to the right. The driver corrected to the left and the vehicle went into a broadside skid, and tripped on the road onto its right side, continuing to roll onto its top.”

Two of the passengers are listed in extremely critical condition at Flagstaff Medical Center. They are Jennifer Dixon (18) and Jennifer Kay (18). These two young women suffer from severe chest trauma and severe head trauma respectively.

They were transported by helicopter to Flagstaff.

Stevie Burnside (18) and Chelsea Mehrhoff (19) were treated at Winslow Memorial Hospital and released later that evening.

The accident occurred at approximately 7:20 p.m. Though alcohol is suspected to have been involved, Neve estimated that Boles was probably traveling at the speed limit.

This was the second fatality of the Memorial Day week, Neve said. Three other accidents could have resulted in further loss of life.

“People walked away from accidents with an extreme potential for life threatening injuries and fatalities. This is the worst Memorial Day weekend we’ve had since I can remember,” Neve said.

A second young woman involved in a one-vehicle collision on June 3 has lost her life.

Jennifer Dixon, 18, passed away the following day from massive head trauma sustained in the accident.

The police report on this matter indicated that had Dixon been wearing her seat belt, the fatality would have been prevented.

The driver of the vehicle, also deceased, was wearing her seat belt, however due to the damage to the vehicle, this fact did not protect her.

Winslow residents are saddened by this event—which heralded in summer vacation for many of Arizona’s young people.