Founder of Yuma Bike Club killed in head-on collision

A one-year statute of limitations for issuance of civil traffic violations looms. If you believe the police should take action please contact the Somerton Police Department by fax, mail, phone, or email (or all of the above!)

Cyclist Doug Flynn was killed, and at least one more rider injured, in a head-on collision last year (Sept 24, 2009) by a driver trying to pass a large farm tractor on a two lane roadway.
[for a line-item on each fatality since 2009; follow this link]

A tribute to Doug posted on the YBC’s website reads “Yuma Bike Club is Read the rest of this entry »

11-year-old killed in crosswalk collision

An 82-year old motorist turning left onto Union Hills from 15th Avenue struck and killed an 11-year old girl riding in the crosswalk on August 5, 2010. The direction of the girl was not specified.

Names have not been released, Phoenix Police officer “Martos said the woman was not impaired and likely will not be charged. Police are still investigating.”

It wasn’t mentioned in any of the news reports but it is possible that it isn’t a bicycle, by definition bicycles are devices with wheels “more than sixteen inches in diameter”.

I’m not familiar with this area or intersection [google maps], though Union Hills Dr appears to be a typical Phoenix “car sewer”; 5 lanes of rush rush.

The mechanics of the collision are very similar to Maxwell v. Gossett, where the Arizona Supreme court found for the cyclist, and against the motorist who was turning through the crosswalk.

The so-called “left cross” is a common mode of collision; Bradley Jason Scott [tbagblog] was killed on Tempe a few weeks ago in a left cross (but not involving a crosswalk).

[azfamily][arizonarepublic][kpho]

Is it legal to ride in a crosswalk?

Setting aside the issue on the relative merits of sidewalk cycling…

By way of some more background on the legality of cycling in crosswalks; an analysis prepared by the Tuscon City Attorney’s office in 1998 found that (my emphasis) “…it is apparent that under the present state of law in Arizona a bicyclist is not prohibited from riding on or across a crosswalk…”.

It’s worth pointing out that this conclusion was reached in Tucson where it is patently illegal to cycle on the sidewalk. I am not aware of any Phoenix ordinance that affects crosswalks, thus we would fall back to the same cases and Arizona statutes analyzed in the above memo.

That being said, saying something is not prohibited is not the same as saying that the car driver must be automatically at fault, e.g. “the court held that bicyclists must still exercise due care and concern for their safety while about to enter or in the crosswalk”.

Moto-cyclist killed in Tempe hit-and-run

UPDATE: Police arrest suspect 7/17/2010 [abc15] “Tempe police say Cody Ryan Davis has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the death of Bradley Jason Scott, 32, who was struck and killed at Southern Avenue and Rural Road around midnight last Saturday. Police say video shows Scott was legally riding a bicycle with the flow of traffic at the time he was struck and killed… police say he made admissions related to the incident”

Over on the TBAG blog, the question was raised about lights.  I am *guessing* that since police went out of their way to say things like “Police say video shows Scott was LEGALLY riding a bicycle… “, that the cyclist had a light.
There was also some discussion of motorized bikes in general; for a lot of minutia about motorized bicycles; see this entry.  The short answer is that the motorized bicycle law wasn’t really thought through, and has a bunch of holes and gray areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Lawsuit filed: Flagstaff cyclist killed in collision with city truck

NAU student Joshua Pete was killed in a collision with a city-owned truck.

“both traveling westbound on Butler Avenue at the time of the collision, with Pete in the marked bike lane, police said. The investigation so far indicates that the truck and the bicyclist collided at about 11:15 a.m [11/16/2009] as the truck was making a right turn into the driveway. Pete became entangled in the truck’s wheel housing and was dragged some distance before the vehicle came to a stop in the driveway” AZ Daily Sun article.

Prosecutor completed their investigation, and there will be no criminal charges  [azdailysun]

AZ Cyclist Fatality Grid

I am not sure of the final outcome, but from reading the crash report, it sounds as though police concluded that the cyclist attempted to overtake the truck (as opposed to the other way around), and therefore there will be no citations to the truck driver.

Lawsuit filed

A $4M wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the family of Joshua Pete. [azdailysun]. The family’s lawyer refers to a supplemental DPS report which contains information they claim makes the truck driver at least partially responsible for the crash “DPS Detective Curt Getting concluded that a ‘contributing factor to the collision would be the wide/late right turn into the plant by the truck driver. The cyclist could have perceived the truck was continuing straight ahead.’ ”

The 5 page DPS referred to is apparently only summarized in Flagstaff PD’s 80 page report.

This is apparently the case number: S-0300-CV-201000619  AMOS H PETE  PLAINTIFF Coconino County Superior

Citation?

There is a citation for “UNSAFE TURN OR NO TURN SIGNAL” floating around: M-0341-TR-2010004034, filed 5/23/2010; I’m not sure if that is in connection with this incident or not? It is odd, however, that something happened (a trial?) on 6/16, and then comments were added on 6/28 — but as of this writing (on 8/2/2010) there is no disposition, it is just blank…. which is because the case got transferred from muni court to Flagstaff justice court, the defendant has plead not guilty, and the case has been continued and no trial date is set as of 8/27/2010. The case number is J-0301-TR-2010005648.

Commuter cyclist killed in Tempe

According to item at biketempe.org, and thread at azfixed.com…

Bike commuter Jay Fretz was killed in a a collision at the intersection of Alamenda and McClintock Drive in Tempe at approximately 6:30p Monday 5/17/2010.

The story has not received any media coverage at the time (strange?).  abc15 ran a piece 10 days after the crash that said “Investigators said he was hit by a car as he rode through a crosswalk at McClintock and Alameda drives”.

This tragedy comes just one week after an ASU student was killed in another Tempe collision.

2010 Arizona cyclist fatality grid

The folks from T.B.A.G. have erected a ghost bike to commemorate the spot where Jay was killed.

“But there is more to the story, punctuated with lousy timing and heart-wrenching misfortune…” read more.

….

Not One More Foundation Announces to all Arizona Cycling Teams, Clubs, Community and Friends a special Fundraising Ride to “Link the Lake” for Jay Fretz. Sat Dec 4th… see more on the arizona brumby’s site.

Driver Sentenced: Bullhead City cyclist killed in hit-and-run

Larissa Jean Castilleja

Larissa Jean Castilleja, 43, a Bullhead City High teacher was killed Sept 9, 2009 when a driver hit her and fled the scene.

This fatality bears many similarities to several of four recent fatalities in the Phoenix-metro area this past summer.

1. the automobile driver hit-and-ran (all 5 incidents)
2. DUI on the part of the automobile driver is suspected (at least 4 of the 5 incidents)
3. time of day was overnight/early morning (ranging from 10pm to 4am)
4. no improper actions on the part of the cyclist are suspected (all 5 incidents)

The suspect was later charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene, on Sept 28 he plead not guilty; and according to the Mojave Daily News, has secured himself  all-star Scottsdale DUI lawyer Scott Maasen. In granting the reduced bond, the judge expressed reservations and then … did it anyway! It was also revealed in that story that the defendant has an outstanding warrant for DUI in Nevada, which he says he is not aware of.

The Plea

The defendant plead guilty to manslaughter, leaving the scene, and DUI. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2010. Case number S-8015-CR-200900986, online lookup.

Sentencing

The [mohavedailynews] had a pretty good rundown of the sentencing:

Judge Steven Conn sentenced Gagliardi to prison for 13 years for both felony crimes (8 for the manslaughter, 5 for hit-and-run), saying the two charges were separate crimes and deserved consecutive sentences. He only found a lack of criminal record as a mitigating factor and that Gagliardi also had about 20 moving violations, mostly for speeding. He found aggravating factors that Gagliardi’s blood alcohol rate was more than twice the legal limit and the emotional harm to Castilleja’s family. The judge also said he hoped the sentences would be a deterrent to people who visit the casinos and drink then get into their cars to drive home.

see also [kingmandailyminer].

Read the rest of this entry »

Driver found guilty: South Phoenix Hit-and-run

7/11/2009: location listed only as “South Phoenix”,  in the early morning hours of Saturday,  hit-and-run. Police apprehended Max Ramiro Garcia, 33, in an unrelated traffic stop (speeding). ( azcentral.com,  KPHO). was charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene in the death of cyclist Robert Flakes; Superior Court Case Number CR2009-145409.

He’s had a bunch of civil traffic cases over the years, search supremecourt.az.gov and justice court.

This is one of a chain of similar fatal hit-and-runs in Phoenix that occurred in summer of 2009.

The Trial and Verdict

The defendant is charged with manslaughter, endangerment, and hit-and-run w/death. And case went to a full-blown trial (sort of unusual), which lasted seven days. I have no idea what went on, or what was the nature of the defense.

The Verdict came in on 5/13/2010. the defendant was found guilty of Neg Hom ( a lesser charge, one notch down from manslaughter), and endangerment. The jury also found those two to be “dangerous” offenses, which factors in to sentencing.

The jury also found the defendant guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal, but (strangely?) found that it was “not proven” that he caused the collision.

Sentencing is scheduled for 6/17/2010.

2009 AZ Cyclist Fatality Grid

ASU student dies in collision on University

ASU student Christopher Volpe, 24, was killed Monday 5/10/2010 when he collided with an SUV. According to police, the driver of the SUV was not at fault. No impairment is suspected. According to this news account: “Police tell 3TV the man was in the eastbound lane of University near Ash”.

According to the ABC15 account: “Police Sgt. Steve Carbajal said 24-year-old Christopher Volpe was apparently traveling west on University Drive when he turned left in front of oncoming traffic and was struck by an SUV.”

I did get some clarification from Molly Enright, Community Affairs Specialist at the Tempe Police Department — the correct information is as Sgt. Carbajal said.

The turning left in front of the SUV doesn’t seem to add up; given the location of the pictured damage. From the picture, it appears the cyclist t-boned into the middle of the passenger side of the SUV.

So I am still confused?

And by the way, as the commenter pointed out, below, southbound Ash vehicular traffic must turn at University — though it’s not clear if that has anything to do with it.

A couple of the accounts say that “Police have determined that he (the driver) was not at fault” — that was fast.

In the wake of this tragedy, Tempe’s First Ghost Bike was placed. [azrepublic] story on the ghost bike installation.

2010 Arizona cyclist fatality grid

[azrepublic] [azfamily/3TV][evtrib][abc15]

Scottsdale cyclist’s death shows problems with law

The Arizona Republic today ran a heavily researched article concerning the death of Cindie Holub in Scottsdale in February. It also delved into some comparative history into other strike-from-behind cases.

[also, here is the original AZ Republic story about the death]

Scottsdale cyclist’s death shows problems with law, Ofelia Madrid and Jane Larson, Arizona Republic, 4/22/2010. Read the rest of this entry »

[verdict] Fatality in Tucson — driver was reportedly “weaving”

[Verdict April 12, 2010] The driver who killed Drake Okusako plead guilty, and received a 4-year prison sentence. “On March 1 he (Segebartt) entered guilty pleas before Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini to the leaving the scene charge and a reduced negligent homicide charge” Read the rest of this entry »