A Surprise man involved in a fatal collision on August 15 has been arrested for possession of narcotics and causing a death with a vehicle.

Michael Bowman, 39, admitted he had illegally obtained narcotic drugs from Del Webb Hospital where he worked as a technician, Sgt. Mark Ortega, a Surprise police spokesman, said.

Bowman was arrested 10 days after the accident. Ortega said that time allowed authorities to complete their investigation. Among the findings was that Bowman had morphine, Demerol and midazolam, Ortega said.

He could not say if Bowman was using any of the drugs at the time of the accident when his pickup truck had collided with a van, killing one of van’s five passengers. Three other passengers were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The accident happened at the intersection of Reems Road and Paradise Lane.

Ortega said Bowman was driving on a suspended license at the time of the collision.

Police have not provided the name of the man who died. They are awaiting medical report with a positive identification of the man, who was badly burned.

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PHOENIX — A surprise downpour sparked collisions involving 69 vehicles on an interstate near Phoenix’s downtown area Saturday evening, closing the westbound roadway for hours and sending seven people to hospitals.

The crashes – described by authorities as the most in a single Phoenix area in recent memory – began about 6:30 p.m. with many drivers going too fast or not leaving enough distance between cars for the slippery conditions, Department of Public Safety spokesman Bob Bailey said.

“The storm hit hard, hit fast, and caught a lot of drivers by surprise,” he said. “The collisions began in the far right side of the roadway near the 7th Street exit ramp and this thing kind of perpetuated itself, enveloping the whole roadway.”

None of the injuries was life threatening and most were fairly minor, Bailey said.

Phoenix Fire Department spokesman Jonathan Jacobs said several others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

A five-mile stretch of westbound Interstate 10 was closed for about 3½ hours, reopening about 10 p.m. PDT. DPS said the roadway was blocked off at Washington Street near downtown Phoenix and several key onramps are also closed.

Bailey said at least half the vehicles in the crashes had to be towed away, accounting for the lengthy closure of the westbound lanes. Eastbound traffic on I-10 wasn’t affected.

Dozens of people involved in the accidents remained on the interstate for hours after the accidents, Jacobs said. Authorities handed out snacks and water and brought in air conditioned city buses for them to relax in until arrangements were made to transport them home, he said.

Summer monsoon storms in the Phoenix-area desert can bring heavy deluges with little warning, often causing localized flooding.