Victim: 22 yo male, name not yet released (Donnell Kiwone Eason); incident 3/6/2015 ~ 1:30pm. Driver: 20 yo male; white Ford Mustang. The picture of the vehicle shows the impact area; left front corner whereupon the cyclist was apparently thrown over the hood and crushed the right-corner of the windshield and roof. Seems like a fairly high-speed impact.
(Photo: Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/The Republic)
Here is what Central and Thomas looks like from a southbound driver’s viewpoint. According to the news report the bicyclist was “…riding westbound on the north side of Thomas Road at Central Avenue when he was struck by a southbound vehicle” — that would be with the direction of traffic; i.e. from left to right in this streetview.
Unmentioned in the news story is the intersection is signalized. Somebody apparently ran the red light as this as described was a right-angle crash.
It was odd that the azcentral story, quoted below, neglected to say which side of the street the bicyclist was traveling on; the police obviously told the media, thus it was reported e.g. by kpho/5 that he was westbound on the north side of street; so we know the bicyclist was not counter-flow.
All the news stories, by the way, have properly eschewed the a-word; I do have one gripe, the url for the story, the so-called “slug”, on azcentral was 2015/03/06/bicyclist-killed-phoenix-traffic-accident/24515913/. Versus the current headline of Bicyclist killed in central Phoenix wreck. So it seems like somebody got the message and somebody didn’t, or perhaps just an editing error.
Crash Report
ADOT incident 3052601 (sorry you can’t click that). Phoenix file number 201500424711 -> 15000424711. The crash report is available online.
The crash data is consistent with the media reports; a WB cyclist on Thomas Rd in the north crosswalk (i.e. riding in the direction of traffic) collided with a SB driver at Central Ave. The narrative hints/implies (based on witness statements) the bicyclist was running the red, when he was struck by a driver on a stale (or perhaps red). The motorist was Unit #1 (most at fault) faulted for SPEED TOO FAST. The bicyclist was also listed as a “violation/behavior” as OTHER, and in the line it says “rode in crosswalk”. Its not clear why the investigator would put it that way, since it’s not illegal (it’s not illegal in either direction, by the way). Here’s the full narrative:
Unit #1 was traveling southbound on Central Avenue when it collide with Unit #2 who was crossing Central Avenue westbound in the crosswalk on the north side of the intersection. Witness statements indicated the signal light for southbound travel was either yellow or red when the collision occurred. Unit #2 was riding a bicycle when struck. There is a two second all red light sequence for the intersection.
Conversely, FARS case 40196 has it faulted to the bicyclist for “Bicyclist Ride Out – Signalized Intersection” (meaning the bicyclist ran the red) — if the FARS analyst thought the driver ran a red, it would be a “Motorist Drive Out – Signalized intersection”. It’s also possible that both units entered on red; there’s not really a specific crash category for that; perhaps that last sentence about the two second all red is hinting at that possibility(?).
Media reports
Bicyclist killed in central Phoenix wreck
The wreck occurred about 1:30 p.m. Friday near Central Avenue and Thomas Road,.. The bicyclist, an unidentified 22-year-old man, was struck while traveling westbound on Thomas Road, Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Johnathan Howard said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Howard said. The driver, an unidentified 20-year-old man, was traveling southbound on Central Avenue when he struck the bicyclist, Howard said. Police are not treating it as a criminal investigation and don’t believe impairment was involved. Howard stated they will be examining video evidence and witness testimony in order to determine what happened.
and
Bicyclist struck, killed by vehicle in Phoenix
…The 22-year-old man was reportedly riding westbound on the north side of Thomas Road at Central Avenue when he was struck by a southbound vehicle about 1:30 p.m…