Category: safety

Truck driver distracted by TikTok in Chandler crash that killed 5 is sentenced to over 22 years in prison

Jan., 12, 2023; I-10 in Chandler, AZ, near Wild Horse Pass Blvd (just a couple of miles from my home. There have been other fatal collisions here)

It’s highly unusual (practically unheard of!) for a not-impaired driver to be punished with prison for causing a death. This one other case, from 2015, comes to mind. Every year in Arizona about 1,000 people die at the hands of a negligent driver. Most of them are not impaired, so here are two out of thousands of cases where the driver went to prison.

Continue reading “Truck driver distracted by TikTok in Chandler crash that killed 5 is sentenced to over 22 years in prison”

Hit Run driver kills man near 40th & Oak, Phoenix

8/17/2024 ~ 1:45a. Hit/Run near 40th & Oak, Phoenix. No description of the vehicle. One news outlet said the victim was a bicyclist; the others, e.g. azcentral, just said a male pedestrian was found injured in the roadway. Continue reading “Hit Run driver kills man near 40th & Oak, Phoenix”

16-year-old girl arrested after DUI hit-and-run crash that killed woman in Ash Fork

8/10/2024 ~ 3am Pedestrian fatality; near 4th Street and Park Avenue, Ash Fork.

The street where this occurred, Park Ave near 4th, is a two-lane one way residential (there is a twin street a couple hundred feet away, Lewis, that goes the other way). This is a typical small rural town setup for the main route thru town. It’s just off the I-40.

It will be interesting to see if the driver is charged as an adult or as a juvenile. And if a juvenile, why do we let children drive cars?

The litany of very serious charges, e.g. manslaughter are unlikely to stick as it seems unlikely the person she killed would have had the right of way; unless they can prove something like the excessive speed (which seems unlikely).

She was probably driving on a graduated driver’s license which means it’s illegal to drive between midnight and 5AM unless with a parent; but that’s an inconsequential charge in the scheme of things.

The hit-and-run w/death charge is likely to stick but, despite being a serious felony doesn’t result in much in the way of punishment. Continue reading “16-year-old girl arrested after DUI hit-and-run crash that killed woman in Ash Fork”

Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year; enforcement declines

Yikes. Not to single-out City of Phoenix; but we can objectively say that City of Phoenix is doing an bad job at pro-active traffic enforcement.

Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year

Fatalities in drunken-driving accidents within Phoenix city limits doubled in 2023 over the prior year and accounted for over a third of all crash deaths recorded in Phoenix…. Continue reading “Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year; enforcement declines”

Man standing next to bicycle killed during hit-and-run crash in north Phoenix, suspect arrested

July 28, 2024. Well, isn’t that special? Standing on the sidewalk? Hit and run? DUI suspected? Another Phoenix traffic fatality. Related: see Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year (as dui arrests decline). 

This might get incorrectly tagged as a pedalcyclist crash; earlier versions of media stories had the headline as “Bicyclist killed in hit-run…” it should be pedestrian according to the description. I will carry it as a not-bicyclist on the fatality spreadsheet.
Continue reading “Man standing next to bicycle killed during hit-and-run crash in north Phoenix, suspect arrested”

Hit-and-run suspect sought in Phoenix after injuring child walking in school crosswalk

April 12(?), 2024. PLEASE tell me they caught this scum!! No news on this April hit-and-run, near 16th St and Roeser in Phoenix in a SCHOOL CROSSWALK. This is a detailed pic, and there can’t possibly be that many Montero’s that look like this rolling around!!

Continue reading “Hit-and-run suspect sought in Phoenix after injuring child walking in school crosswalk”

Driver on suspended license hits and kills cyclist in Phoenix

May 17(?) 2024

The driver has since been indicted my MCAO on 2nd degree murder.

This has it all: domestic violence, DUI, driving on a suspended license, hit-and-run w/fatality, ramming police vehicles (which should amount to aggravated assault), and ultimately murdering a bicyclist while fleeing.

Though i would expect prosecution to overlook (as they always do) the hit-and-run because, well, hit-and-run is routinely overlooked — by which i mean that by statute, and sentence for it must run consecutively (and not concurrently) to any other crime charged, so they pretty much always just give probation for hit-and run… Continue reading “Driver on suspended license hits and kills cyclist in Phoenix”

Glendale teen remains hospitalized as hit-and-run suspect turns himself in to police

4/11/2024 7:30pm Involving a hit-run driver striking a boy riding a bicycle in a crosswalk at 47th and Northern avenues Glendale; witnesses describe a white pickup or SUV going westbound on 47th.

The driver fled and then turned himself in a couple of days later. Was he impaired at the time?

Police have not said who was at fault for causing the collision, however fleeing a crash w/serious injury is a criminal felony in any case.

Shout out to those who want to outlaw photo-enforcement: “Police used traffic cameras…” to help identify the suspect vehicle; traffic enforcement cameras have been used successfully to provide evidence enabling police to identify and catch dangerous criminals.

Continue reading “Glendale teen remains hospitalized as hit-and-run suspect turns himself in to police”

DPS: Wrong-way driver had 0.263 BAC in crash that killed mother, injured daughter in Apache Junction

Jan 21, 2024 Sunday morning ~6am, Apache Junction, U.S. 60 near Mountain View Road; head-on MV crash.

DPS: Wrong-way driver had 0.263 BAC in crash that killed mother, injured daughter in Apache Junction According to the news article, the driver Adam Parker “has two prior DUI convictions.” Continue reading “DPS: Wrong-way driver had 0.263 BAC in crash that killed mother, injured daughter in Apache Junction”

Driver pleads guilty to endangerment in double fatality

Crime date: Oct 5, 2018

So many twists and turns, but illustrative on how the justice system has great difficulty dealing with bad drivers (never even brought manslaughter charges, sound familiar?). This 2018 case was referenced in an azbikelaw article several years ago, but there are updates and case is now (Dec 2021) finally closed :

Even when there’s some other clear evidence, e.g. very drunk, charges are sometimes not brought, e.g. police say Collin Reeves was very drunk at .145 BAC  proceeding straight ahead and collided with a left-turning driver at the intersection of McKellips and Alma School Rd in Mesa, resulting in two motorist (and their dog) deaths  County Attorney drops charges on accused drunk driver who killed 2 . Witnesses say Reeves’ light was red; but prosecutors claim they can’t prove anything, thus the dropped charges. — click for original article

Continue reading “Driver pleads guilty to endangerment in double fatality”

Force of deadly crash in Tempe splits car in half, driver arrested

Sat 11/25/2023 “early morning” ~ 1:30A

Rural Road southbound, just south of Broadway, Tempe. Driver is suspected of impairment and excessive speed; crossed over and struck a fixes object, a “single vehicle” type crash.

Rural Road is very wide. (too wide?). This apparently allegedly involved street racing; the evening tv news (pasted below), the crash occurred on the property of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, on the east side of Rural Road.

Continue reading “Force of deadly crash in Tempe splits car in half, driver arrested”

Driver(s) kill boy, injure man on the sidewalk

11/11/2023 10A. Intersection of Ray Road and Coronado, Chandler Arizona.

The victims were reported to be: killed 9 year old Ilai Petersen, whose father  Aaron was injured.

Chandler Police describe the “accident” (please! #crashnotaccident) as an apparent left-turn error, and the resultant 2-vehicle collision caused one of the vehicle drivers to lose control and drive up on the sidewalk, striking the pedestrians. Continue reading “Driver(s) kill boy, injure man on the sidewalk”

Driver Sentenced to prison in 2019 killing of a motorcyclist on SR101

August 24, 2019 — a driver rear ended a motorcyclists on SR101, killing him.

This is certainly one for the record books: sending a not-impaired driver to prison. This is exceedingly rare (but see below, there’s more to this story). There is one other case where a driver was convicted in the 2013 killing of DPS officer Tim Huffman; that driver was said to be distracted by and “watching” his phone…. Continue reading “Driver Sentenced to prison in 2019 killing of a motorcyclist on SR101”

Bicyclist seriously injured after being hit by impaired driver, Mesa police say

9/30/2023 Alleged impaired motorist failed to negotiate a a mild bend while northbound on Gilbert road, struck a curb and then seriously injured a bicyclist on Old Gilbert Road. Map view: Gilbert Road at Old Gilbert Road

Supposedly driver was arrested, but for whatever reason, Mesa PD did not release the driver’s name.

Continue reading “Bicyclist seriously injured after being hit by impaired driver, Mesa police say”

Multiple injuries caused by RV driver bad overtaking

8/27/2023 10:30am.
The crash occurred about 1/2 mile south of the intersection of Lake Mary Rd & Ashurst Lk Rd. According to the news account from the Arizona Daily Sun (archived) seven cyclists were injured. We have remarkable documentation because a cyclist in front of those injured had a cycliq rear taillight/camera. The driver appears to have misjudged the space available, and struck a rider who was riding in the narrow traffic lane. The coco county sheriff’s office said the driver was cited, with reference to 3-feet, and max fine of $500; so 28-735B. Continue reading “Multiple injuries caused by RV driver bad overtaking”