4/14/2016 Bicyclist Donald Neu was killed riding westbound Riggs Road near Arizona Ave when he was struck by a driver who “drifted” into the rather wide, designated BL.
Note that, according to that description of events, the driver has “failed to keep proper lane” (§28-729) and should be charged with 28-672, a criminal misdemeanor — assuming other more-serious charges are ruled out. Are police (in this case, MSCO) aware of this? In this triple serious injury, they were. See more about 28-672 .
28-735 is all well-and-good, and as far as I know can be “stacked” on 28-672, but it (28-735) is nothing more than a fine.
Riggs Road here is a rather wide, lots of lanes, along with designated BLs, high-speed arterial suburban (exurban?) street.
Sun Lakes bicyclist fatally struck by car
Posted: Saturday, April 16, 2016 10:29 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities have identified a man who was killed after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle in Sun Lakes.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s officials say the victim was 78-year-old Donald Neu, of Sun Lakes.
Investigators say Neu was riding west on Riggs Road near Arizona Avenue on Thursday morning.
They say a car traveling the same direction drifted into the bike lane, hitting his bike and throwing him 100 feet.
Neu was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
It’s unclear if the driver of the car will face any charges. That person’s name hasn’t been released.
Sheriff’s officials said Friday that they’re still investigating the fatal crash.
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according to the f.b. (consider the source?) comment thread at the abc15.com news story, in answer to the question:
“Was the prius driver 85 or 95 years old?” someone said
“We saw the driver of Prius and she appeared to be in 40’s with a young child”
and was further identified by someone else specifically,
June 1, 1968 / H.A. Keller / Easton, Connecticut
though i suspect that might be a joke (in poor taste), because Helen (Adams) Keller died June 1, 1968, at her home in Easton, CT (get it? the driver was blind, i suppose)
I am trying to find out whether anyone was criminally charged for Mr Neu’s death.
Hi Patricia;
I don’t know. That information could be found through MCSO and/or MCAO (Maricopa County Sheriff’s / Attorney’s Office). If they won’t talk to you; you (anyone) can obtain the written report via a request to the Sheriff’s office and paying a small fee. The report should list the name of the driver, and you (anyone) can see if the driver was cited or charged).
I don’t know why this stuff is shrouded in such secrecy. I am trying to find out more about this one (similar situation — Scottsdale police’s description indicate driver should be charged), was he or she? I keep asking Scottsdale for info, none has been forthcoming:
https://azbikelaw.org/drifting-driver-kills-bicyclist-in-scottsdale/
Do police know what they are doing? Do prosecutors? Bicycle traffic fatalities of this type are quite rare, it’s quite possible they don’t know how to properly investigate and/or charge these incidents. For example in the case of City of Scottsdale mentioned above that happened earlier this year (2020) the previous similar incident — driver not charged, by the way — last happened back in 2012.
.. but of course that would not be an excuse.
If you find out anything please let me know so I can share it
The woman who struck Don Neu was an attorney who claimed a child riding in the car had distracted her, resulting in Don being struck. I hope she knows the devastating impact his loss caused his beloved wife, family and entire Sun Lakes community because of her gross negligence. Yes. Many of us are still very angry and hurt.
ed. note: Coincidentally, the woman who killed Shawn McCarty under very similar circumstances was the spouse of an attorney. https://azbikelaw.org/bad-weekend-in-scottsdale/
Does anyone know the driver’s name in the Neu case and/or if she was charged with anything?
hi patty,
i will let you know if i hear anything about Neu.
I would encourage you to contact Chandler PD records and request a copy of the crash, and departmental report. It will have the name of the driver and what, if anything happened to him/her.
I just don’t have time to follow up on many cases — I am right now chasing a series of three similar fatal incidents in Scottsdale.
Police referred charges on the one from May 2020 but (apparently) is stuck in the prosecutor’s office, linked here:
https://azbikelaw.org/driver-veers-into-scottsdale-bike-lane-kills-woman-and-injures-another/
I have 2 of the three dept reports — do you want to read them?