Saturday March 19, 2022 9:45 a.m. Suspect arrested; 26 y.o. Ryan Machado; Manslaughter, driving under the influence, leaving scene of a fatal, etc.
All were eastbound on Sunrise Dr in the area of Potomac
Sunrise drive is a fast, wide, arterial road with raised median, bike lanes and turn pockets
I don’t actually know this, but it appears likely the driver struck the bicyclists in the bike lane, so I’m setting the tag “drifted” (as opposed to in a general shared travel lane, in which case the tag would be “struck from behind”)
“Husband, wife killed while riding their bikes in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills | Crime and courts | tucson.com” https://tucson.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/husband-wife-killed-while-riding-their-bikes-in-tucsons-catalina-foothills/article_0133cfae-a7d5-11ec-91e2-ab2db1086390.amp.html
Not that the driver isn’t 100% at fault here, but, I thought I would share some local knowledge on that location. First, it is high speed for both cars and bikes. It’s about 2-3% downhill. Cars often travel at 60+mph. The lanes are narrow for that speed. There is a left hand bend in the road and a somewhat unusual intersection to the right. The bike lane narrows and is often covered in pea sized gravel. Honestly, with the combination of this intersection and the overwhelming propensity for most drivers being distracted, this collision was sadly inevitable. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families.
Drivers need to get off their effing phones!!!
He was drunk and under the influence of marijuana. I dont belive his phone mattered at that point. He needs to go to jail for a long time.