An early morning accident along State Route 179 closed northbound traffic for more than eight hours.

According to the Sedona Police Department, just after midnight on Sunday, June 21, a 911 call came in reporting a loud sound, similar to an automobile accident. Officers checked the area and found that a large commercial cargo truck had gone off the roadway from the northbound lanes south of the Little Horse trailhead.

The vehicle was found on its side at the bottom of a culvert on the west side of the roadway.

Officers found that the driver of the vehicle was pinned inside the crushed cab of the truck. The Sedona Fire District responded to the scene and was able to extricate the driver from the vehicle. The driver did not appear to be seriously injured, police said, but was transported to Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood where he was treated for a broken left arm.

The driver, 28-year-old Akeem Jamal Best, of San Antonio, would not provide officers with any information on how the collision occurred and appeared to be under the influence, SPD Chief Ray Cota said. Best was arrested and transported to the Yavapai County Detention Center in Camp Verde.

To read the full story, see the Wednesday, June 24, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.