Boy's Death on Highway 180 Puts Spotlight on Snow-Play Crowds North of Flagstaff

A fatal crash in late January has renewed concern about the crowds that descend on Highway 180 north of Flagstaff after every good snowfall, as residents and county officials debate how to keep visitors safe.

According to the Department of Public Safety, the victim was an 11-year-old boy from Sinaloa, Mexico. At about 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon, the boy and his family tried to cross the highway. Some relatives stopped for an oncoming Jeep, but the child did not. The Jeep's 20-year-old driver remained at the scene.

Kathy Perkins, who lives near the highway, was heading into town that day. She said she noticed heavy traffic in both directions and sensed something was wrong. Emergency vehicles, she said, were blocking the lane on the opposite side of the road because parked cars left no room for them to pull over and reach the victim. It had snowed the night before, and Perkins said she had expected the road to be busy. "It's always been this way, but it seems to be getting worse," she said.

Her son, Sean McNally, pointed to a nearby parking lot as an example. After a fresh snowfall, he said, visitors fill the lots and double-park in the lanes meant for driving. Once the lots are full, traffic backs up onto the highway. "Bumper to bumper. And you can't see the people until they're already in the road," he said.

Enforcement has already been heavy. Over the New Year's Day weekend, Coconino County sheriff's deputies issued nearly 100 tickets and towed five vehicles along the Highway 180 corridor. Since the boy's death, digital signs have gone up telling people to stay off the highway shoulder, though Perkins argued they were placed in town rather than where the problem occurs.

Flagstaff residents have long dealt with the effects of a tourism industry they welcome. Volunteer groups have formed to clear broken sleds and other debris left behind, and residents contend with piled-up trash and trespassers who choose a hill that happens to sit on private property.

County Supervisor Patrice Horstman said the county and state have increased signage, including no-parking and no-snow-play signs along Highway 180. The county also opened a snow play area south of Flagstaff, which she said has proved popular. She suggested the pandemic may have driven more people outdoors, noting that the number of vehicles going in for snow play has doubled from last year to this year, a rise she said is also seen on 180 toward the Peaks.

Horstman said six electronic signs will now reinforce the permanent ones, which prohibit snow play and parking on that stretch of 180. Officials have also produced maps of alternative play areas and set up a winter hotline with information on snow conditions and where to go.

She wants city and county officials to create more snow play areas and would like law enforcement to hand parking tickets directly to drivers on the highway rather than mailing them. Still, she said, education, signs and enforcement can only do so much. "It is up to each individual and their families to recreate responsibly," she said.

Perkins and McNally said they remain worried that another tragedy could happen.