10/2/2017 Monday evening ~ 8PM. Police say impairment may be involved. Southern near Hardy. Two motorists died and a third is in critical condition. (died later)
Southern is one of Tempe’s series/network of high-speed arterial roads. High speeds are conducive to death. Pedestrians and Bicyclist do often become collateral damage, but motorists are the most frequent victims.
Arterial Roads and Traffic Fatalities
Hi-speed roads naturally account for a higher proportion of traffic, however the injuries and fatalities are completely lopsided, below is a map of every fatality in Tempe for the period 2009-2016 (excluding freeways), mostly motorists but also a lesser number of pedestrians and several bicyclists (motorists / pedestrians / bicyclists = 45 / 21 / 5).
Speed enforcement seems to be virtually non-existent. Things like automated enforcement have been eliminated by the City (shamefully, IMO). DUI enforcement appears to be in decline (though I don’t have Tempe city data, GOHS reports declining arrests statewide, why?), despite the acute danger that it presents to every road user. Ultimately, speeding is a road-design problem; road designers and policy-makers need to build a transportation infrastructure for people; rather than designed to move the maximum number of cars at unlimited speed.
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Please, Crash not Accident
Although our local news media seems to have mostly consistently eliminated the a-word; Tempe Police, unfortunately have not:
“The investigation is still fluid, but we do know that (the) accident was fatal for two subjects and a third is in serious condition,” Tempe police Sgt. Ron Elcock said.
Please, #crashnotaccident
This is particularly galling because obviously police suspect impairment may be involved.
Two killed in Tempe crash, police say
Two people were killed in a traffic crash that forced the closure of part of Southern Avenue in Tempe on Monday night, police said.
The two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and a commercial-sized van occurred on Southern Avenue near Hardy Drive about 8 p.m., police said.
“The investigation is still fluid, but we do know that (the) accident was fatal for two subjects and a third is in serious condition,” Tempe police Sgt. Ron Elcock said.
… Tempe police said impairment may have been a factor in the crash, but it has not yet been confirmed.
Just surfing the net later
An article in my local paper that came out about a week later, the Ahwatukee Foothill news has some background on the lives lost. (Katie Zeitino) Beloved Ahwatukee store clerk, 2 others killed in crash the other two that were killed were her husband Miguel, 31, and mother-in-law, Magdalena Zeitino.
The “suspected impaired” driver’s name was not released. Police say the suspected impaired van driver was driving on Southern and crossed-over for unknown reasons, killing the three.
It’s not unusual to not release the name of suspects before they are arrested, the news article states the suspect was “very seriously injured”. However, he was presumably eventually arrested and charged. Or was he? It’s apparently never made it into the news meaning police may not have ever told the media… leaving the public hanging.