Author: ArizonaBikeLaw

Bicyclist killed in Tucson hit-and-run was SunTran driver

05/23/2013 Bicyclist John Akers was struck and killed at the intersection of Mission and Irvington Road; this is near but outside of Tucson, and so Pima County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation. The driver fled the scene. Akers was on his way to work around 3:30a as a SunTran driver. Deputies located a suspect vehicle and a suspect was arrested a few hours later. The bicyclist was northbound, and the motorist was eastbound — this is a signalized intersection.  Bicyclist killed in Tucson hit-and-run was SunTran driver

tucsonvelo.com has reported that “Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy and BAC liaison Ryan Roher said via email that alcohol was involved. He said the suspect left the scene, but was later apprehended by Pima County deputies. According to Roher the cyclist was wearing a helmet and witnesses indicate the cyclist was riding  ‘within the law.’ ”

The Criminal Case

Pima County Superior Court case CR20132547

UPDATED Jan 2014 tucsonvelo.com: “The driver who hit and killed John Akers, a SunTran driver who was cycling to work, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, the Arizona Daily Star is reporting … Enrique F. Hernandez plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash that caused a death as well as driving under the influence”…”Hernandez, 25, ran a stop light at Mission and Irvington roads where he plowed into John Akers, who was riding his bike to work. Hernandez then fled the scene”

If this bit from the azstar is correct: “Hernandez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and five years for leaving the scene of a deadly accident. Those prison terms will be served consecutively.” It is the ONLY sentence I’ve EVER seen where prison time will actually be served for hit-and-run.

Phoenix police officer dies in fatal hit-and-run

vehicleRaetzHitAndRunFatality[Update: driver sentenced, see below] Although it seems obvious that police work is dangerous because there are bad guys with guns trying to kill them; roughly the same number of  policeman killed in the line of duty die as the result of a traffic collision than by being shot (or stabbed)….

May 19, 2013 ~ 3:30a, Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz was killed while “processing a DUI suspect near 51st and Cambridge avenues when he was struck by a green Ford Expedition, which then fled the scene”. azcentral.com. The story doesn’t give much detail, I would assume from what was presented he was a pedestrian, which is consistent with the picture of the SUV that struck Raetz, which police released later. Continue reading “Phoenix police officer dies in fatal hit-and-run”

Phx PD Officer’s SUV hit by red-light runner

A Phoenix police officer was injured in a collision with red-light-runner at Sweetwater and 43rd Ave. The red-light-runner was described only as “elderly”. As a result of the collision, both vehicles careened out of control up and over the sidewalks, one striking a tree and another a wall. Although there were three fairly minor injuries, it appears serious injury (or fatality) was only avoided by a stroke of luck that no one was walking there. How often do cars drive up over the sidewalk?

 azcentral.com news report:
A car reportedly ran a red light and slammed into a Phoenix police SUV, leaving the officer and two others injured Thursday morning, according to authorities. The police SUV was heading east on Sweetwater Avenue about 9:30 a.m., said Lt. Ben Leuschner of the Phoenix Police Department. The car, with an elderly couple inside, was going south on 43rd Avenue. The car ran a red light and slammed into the police SUV, according to police. The car ended up hitting a wall and the police SUV was pushed off the side of the road. All three people had to be extricated from their vehicles. The officer’s injuries weren’t considered serious. The conditions of the people in the car weren’t immediately available.

I don’t know anything about that area of town, however, I will comment that Sweetwater looks like a nice calm road, whereas 43rd Ave is a standard city of Phoenix car-sewer.

Tragedies just keep on coming

… A few days later on May 19th, Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz was killed while “processing a DUI suspect near 51st and Cambridge avenues when he was struck by a green Ford Expedition, which then fled the scene”. azcentral.com. The story doesn’t give much detail, i would assume from what was presented he was a pedestrian.

Continue reading “Phx PD Officer’s SUV hit by red-light runner”

Casa Grande PD nabs hit and run suspect

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[ 11/28/2016 complaint: EXCEED SPEED LIMIT BY 20/45 MPH, plead guilty. see below. Was Wuertz speeding when he hit and nearly killed Brennan and then fled the scene in 2013? Is he still on probation?   ]

[Mar 2014 — plea / plea agreement dated 2/24/2014  The plea stipulates no jail; Wuertz pleas guilty to endangerment, a very low level felony (it even automatically conditionally converts to a misdemeanor). More importantly there is no hit-and-run conviction. That charge, besides being a serious felony, would have resulted in a 5 to 10 year driver license revocation — though the deal does state that “pursuant to 28-3304 the defendant’s license shall be revoked”. Though I’m not sure for how long. Section (A)3 states license must be revoked for commission of any felony w/motor vehicle. I’m not sure when sentencing is but it’s pretty much a done deal] Continue reading “Casa Grande PD nabs hit and run suspect”

DUI suspected in Phoenix crash that injured 5

Yikes — head on collision with multiple life-threatening injuries to the children, whom police said were all properly restrained.

It was a glorious late-April morning in Phoenix, the sun had been up for just an hour, the kids were all buckled in…  seriously, how often does stuff like this happen happen? By the way, neither of the vehicles involved were remarkable, the victim was driving a Pontiac G6 and the suspect was driving a Mitsubishi Galant; both mid-sized sedans in the 3,000 pound weight range.
The collision occurred on Southern Avenue near 38th St, Southern Avenue is typical of the Phoenix Metro area’s many, fine, wide, straight, multi-laned, high-speed arterial streets (appears to be posted 45mph); they work really well except when drivers bump into one another, or a ped, or a a cyclist; and then people get seriously injured or die. Continue reading “DUI suspected in Phoenix crash that injured 5”

Driver sentenced in Tucson dui / hitandrun / switcheroo fatality

I’m collecting this here mostly for completeness; this is the case involving the death of motorized bicyclist, Craig Lewis, 47.  The perp is Samantha Baldwin, 23. Lewis was struck from behind while riding on the shoulder along W. Ajo Highway near Soledad Ave around 1 a.m. on May 19, 2012. Thanks to tucsonvelo.com for their coverage Continue reading “Driver sentenced in Tucson dui / hitandrun / switcheroo fatality”

AAA: Cost of car ownership increases to $9,100 this year

The AAA puts out a report on the costs of operating a car each year, and are always fun… figure a ballpark of 60 cents a mile. It’s been my experience that car owners are in consistent denial, other than chronic moaning about the price of fuel, about the high costs of automobility. (and fuel ends up being only about 1/4th of the overall cost). And these costs only represent direct costs; socialized costs (pollution, policing, mayhem, free and subsidized parking, various non-fuel taxes, etc) are not even attempted to be measured here.

“A new AAA reports shows, on average, the cost of driving 15,000 miles a year rose 1.17 cents to 60.8 cents per mile, or $9,122 per year. Overall, that’s a roughly 2% increase on the cost of operating a car last year.”  usatoday

Motorcyclist killed after crash in Phoenix

This appears to be highly typical mode of motorcyclist fatality

A motorist makes a bad left at intersection, striking oncoming motorcyclist.

Had this been a bicyclist-MV collision, it would be a crash type 212 – Motorist Left Turn—Opposite Direction, commonly called a “left hook”. This is a relatively uncommon fatal crash type, just 12 of 617 bicyclist fatalities nationwide in 2010 according to FARS. One supposes that the relative speeds involved make this far more likely to be deadly for motorcyclists than for bicyclists.

One wonders how the police handle such cases; from the description, it appears the motorist should be cited for 28-772 making a bad left, and charged with 28-672. since a death resulted.

Motorcyclist, 20, killed when driver, 84, failed to yield

By Yihyun Jeong
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:03 PM

A motorcyclist died after a car tried to make a left turn in front of the motorcyclist at Cave Creek Road and Union Hills Drive in Phoenix Wednesday, officials said. Police responded to a serious injury collision at the intersection of Cave Creek Road and Union Hills Drive around 4 p.m., Sgt. Steve Martos, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department said. Police were told that a motorcyclist was down and his motorcycle was on fire. The motorcyclist, Angelo Wright, 20, was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of injuries, Martos said. The police department’s Vehicular Crimes Unit responded to the scene and determined that an 84-year-old female driver of a Volkswagen Rabbit, was heading east on Union Hills and tried to make a left turn at Cave Creek Road to travel north, Martos said. The driver failed to yield to Wright, who was riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and collided with him. Wright was not wearing a helmet.

 

Was the driver cited and/or charged? Dunno. Would have to get police report and get driver’s name, since police didn’t say, and then do a lookup.

 

Photo enforcement is all about making money?

“Police Chief Michael Frazier said the program brought in about $150,900 for the city since it began in May 2010. However, it cost the city $340,700 to run the program over that same period — a $189,800 deficit” Surprise won’t renew contract with photo-enforcement company

When photo-enforcement makes money; detractors say that that proves that “it’s only about the money”. When it costs money and the program gets canceled we are told by the detractors that this just double proves that it’s only about money.

 

[Driver Sentenced] Arrest made in hit-and-run of Tucson cyclist

Hit and runs are always awful. This one from Tucson May 20, 2011 seems especially so. Police arrested a young woman four days after the crash, Abigail A. Allin, 21. There is a lot more info supplied by Sam Abate’s father over on tucsonvelo.com. Continue reading “[Driver Sentenced] Arrest made in hit-and-run of Tucson cyclist”

1 Motorist Dead, 1 Bicyclist Dead

[Final update 3/17/2015: The defendant was found incompetent to stand trial and all charges were dismissed CR2013003301. A statement on the defendant’s lawyer’s website relates some more details: “Marie Blandford, who accidentally took Ambien (zolpidem) and blacked out while driving…” “Blandford, a widow and mother of three children, has suffered from progressive dementia and Alzheimer’s and is incapable of assisting her counsel at trial” She now “resides in a 24-hour care facility and has significant memory deficits” ]

[Update 4/5/2013: Authorities have released the victims’ names, they were Clare Louis Kirby, 46, of Mesa (bicyclist) and  William Phillips, 72 (motorist). The sheriff’s office spokesman said a homicide investigation is underway; and that criminal charges will be filed and that other charges will depend on the results of the investigation. The suspect was also identified as 73-year-old Marie Blandford of Payson. Victims in 2 fatal crashes ID’d; charges likely for injured driver ]

A hit-and-run driver in a green SUV killed an as-yet unidentified female cyclist on the Bush Highway near Usery Pass Rd 4/3/2013 around 9am. in the Tonto National Forest. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

Witnesses who followed the green SUV saw that vehicle, then get into a separate collision several miles away at Ellsworth and McKellips where the driver of the green SUV T-boned another vehicle, the driver of the other vehicle died a short time later; The driver of the green SUV was injured; police identify her only as a 73-year old female.

Driver suspected in fatal hit-run gets in 2nd fatal crash in Mesa

Google maps view of the two locations; pin A is the bicyclist fatality, and B is the motorist fatality. They are 6.7 miles apart; a driving time of some 9 minutes according to google maps. A more exact location of the bicyclist crash wasn’t give, it appears from the news-copter footage that it was Bush Highway somewhere west of the intersection with Usery Pass (Usery Pass Road is also called Ellsworth Road in Mesa; the 2nd collision was at the intersection of Ellsworth and McKellips). This area is a designated bike lane, and appears to be in good shape.

This is FARS case=40216 ; the driver is positive for zolpidem (Ambien).

Bicyclist Diversion Programs Around Arizona

In several jurisdictions around Arizona, bicyclists who are cited for an infraction can have their tickets dismissed by attending a bicyclist safety class. This is a win-win: the fines are either much lower (or none at all?!), and the bicyclist gets exposed to a training course. Various limitations apply, generally you can have no more than one ticket per year dismissed in this way.

Unlike the Defensive Driver Program [information on TSS Traffic Safety School and DDP/DDS Defensive Driving Program/School was moved to driving-school], which is enabled by statute, these bicyclist-specific programs are completely ad-hoc, and the rules and red-tape are very flexible and minimal. Here are the programs currently available in Arizona:

City of Tempe: www.tempe.gov

which seem to be run out of the courts exclusively, and in fact the city attorney’s office tells me they have nothing whatsoever to do with civil traffic.
It appears the newer program (active as of Aug 2023) is run by TPD, and costs $50. It is a series of four or five ~5 minute TPD-produced videos where a narrator reads a slide, interspersed with a question between videos. At the conclusion you can enter your citation info to get credit; at some point you pay $50. Anyone can complete the training (for free); i have some issues with it which I’ll try to get answers to. I am very happy to see the emphasis on wrong-way riding, because it is indeed dangerous and illegal, but I do have a problem with their explanation, as detailed below.

There are a handful of tidbits of mis-information, which are contrary to law and in some cases contrary to best/safe practice:

The bike module; gave the usual short shrift to 28-815A, the bicyclist “as far right as practicable” rule:
Bikes – Intro “If you (cyclists) are in the roadway, you MUST use a bike lane when provided”; and “You must ALWAYS ride as nearly to the right hand edge as practical”, with the only exception noted is preparing for left turn,  and no explanation of what “practicable” (or practical, as the word on the slide says) might mean.

Firstly, Arizona has no mandatory bike lane use law; and second, 28-815A has numerous exceptions and a pre-condition, which are all for bicyclists’ safety; which mean it is both safest and legal to move LEFT and away from the right edge under typical conditions.
City of Tempe also has the misinformation about mandatory bike lane use posted on their city website which they refuse to fix or address.

And also in Bikes – Intro, the wrong-way cyclist depicted is violating 28-729 “right half of the roadway rule”, and NOT 28-815A as noted on the slide. I mention this because wrongly applying 28-815A is at the root of misunderstanding how bicycle traffic laws function. It’s a very bad sign when the police make this fundamental error.

This is a bit of a nit-pick but I’ll mention it:
Bike – equip: the explanation and “No” picture  of the hand on handlebar rule, §28-816. seems to be mis-explained. (the picture shows a guy riding no hands and holding a water bottle with his mouth — this is not illegal because nothing would “prevent” him from placing a hand on the handlebars).

This isn’t bikes, but I’ll mention it anyway: Regarding Pedestrian module: I don’t believe the statement “(to be an unmarked crosswalk it) must be compliant with the ADA” is true. There are unmarked crosswalks at every intersection pursuant to 28-601 def’n, there is no mention of ADA or ramps.

Before TPD took over the bike diversion program, it was handled thru ASU Police — not surprisingly there was no obvious mis-information in it as ASU Police have (several!) “PCIs” (IPMBA certified Police Cycling Instructors)(the older class ppt is linked below). I have no idea why it switched from ASUPD to TPD. As far as I can tell, TPD does not have, nor has it ever had any LCIs or PCIs. This, among other things, should be a red-flag when assessing the city’s “bike friendliness” LAB rating (gold!) but doesn’t seem to be even considered.

The older (up until 2020 or so?) program costs $40 + $15,  The class is given by administered by the ASU police department at ASU and is now online only (formerly was a classroom based program at ASU, perhaps through the mid 2010’s?); it applies to tickets issued anywhere in city of Tempe.[rates as of mid 2018: $50 + $18]
See comment below for the .ppt used in the older online class.

Pima County now says, retrieved Sept 2015, (these links die a lot!) “Bicycle diversion classes are reserved for persons who’ve received a traffic citation while riding their bike. The City Prosecutor’s Office will dismiss a cyclist’s civil traffic citation if he or she submits proof of completion of the Bicycle Diversion Program safety class which is now being offered by EZAZ Traffic School. Call 520-207-3200 to register. Please note that there is a fee of $39 for the class. If you were cited into the Green Valley Justice Court…”.

Note this is a change, and as of sometime in 2015, instructors are no longer LCIs. And the class now lumps ped violators with bicyclist violators — which seems quite stupid and reflects a mentality that bicyclists are rolling peds.

Town of Oro Valley
According to this USDot “Mayor’s Challenge” flyer (the town was named a “small city winner” by USDot) as of spring 2016 … Oro Valley Court apparently has a bicyclist diversion program: “As part of the bicycle safety effort, the Oro Valley Court created a new educational diversion program for bicyclists who received bicycle traffic citations”.

City of Tucson www.tucsonaz.gov/prosecutor/Diversion/diversion.html and scroll down to BIKE SAFETY DIVERSION PROGRAM “the City Prosecutor’s Office will dismiss a cyclist’s civil traffic citation…” This is apparently FREE(!? no court fees, no class fee) [link dead as of Sept 2015; leaving here for posterity]

UofA and Pima County: jp.co.pima.az.us/BikeDiversionProgram.htm “you may be eligible to attend the County Attorney’s Bicycle Diversion Program” This is apparently FREE(!? no court fees, no class fee). By the way, I don’t know the ins-and-outs but apparently the UofA campus falls under county jurisdiction for some reason. [link dead as of Sept 2015; leaving here for posterity]

Flagstaff: No details, but a program was announced in an 8/2/2015 news story. Here’s a page on FBO’s site (the link to the form is dead)

 

Both of the Tucson and Pima ones seem to run completely out of the respective prosecutor’s office, as opposed to, say, Tempe where it is run via the municipal court. Here is a flyer with some general info from the Pima Co. Bike Ped program.

Related topic: License points for bicyclists?

See also do-points-apply-to-bicyclists for a controversy about whether or not driver’s license points can be applied to a person (who has a license) for an infraction incurred while riding a bicycle.

2013: Bill would ban cell phone use by novice teen drivers

[Update as of 2/23/2013, The McComish novice cell ban, SB1241, is moving forward. The Farley full text ban SB1218 is dead. See below ]
[Update as of 4/4/2013 McComish bill appears stalled, it is being prevented from coming to a vote in full senate. In other news, Farley tried again, via amendment, to get a texting ban; see notes below on SB2378]

It’s the start of a new legislative season in Arizona, the 51st Regular session, for those keeping track.  (find other bills of interest with the legislation tag)

A cell phone ban has been introduced, SB1241. The same (or similar?) bill was introduced last year, bill-would-ban-cell-phone-use-by-teen-drivers-with-learners-permits. The bill applies only to “novice” drivers, that is those who are 16-18 years old, and the ban only lasts for 6 months. On the brighter side, it is a total ban, which I prefer to, say, a handsfree exception. For background, see NTSB has called for a total ban. Continue reading “2013: Bill would ban cell phone use by novice teen drivers”

2 peds killed, 1 hurt after pickup truck slams into bus stop

Two dead peds, plus one seriously injured while in the process of boarding a city bus. Seriously, how often does this happen?

Police suspect the driver, Raymond J. Barela, , who was going the wrong way, of being impaired. 2 killed, 1 hurt after pickup truck slams into bus stop. 3/26/2013.

“Of the fatalities, only one has been identified (at the time of the news story). That victim is 47-year-old Jesus Antonio Martinez Chavez.”

…

https://litigation-update.com/two-dead-in-west-valley-bus-stop-crash Phoenix police said that two people were boarding a city bus at 67th Avenue and Indian School Road when the driver of a yellow Nissan truck traveling west on Indian School lost control, crossed the center lane, and crashed between the bus stop bench and the bus. Jesus Antonio Martinez Chavez, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene. An unidentified 43-year-old man was taken to a local hospital and later died during surgery. A 36-year-old man escaped with minor injuries.

Police said the driver of the truck has been identified as Raymond J. Barela, 43. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and is suspected of being under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash.