Show Low driver rams bicyclists, 7 critical

Well, this is unusual — a pickup driver crossed over (driving in the wrong direction) and rammed a large group of bicyclists who were participating in the Bike the Bluff, an organized ride (it’s actually a full-blown race, apparently) in Show Low, Arizona.

photo: Jim Headly / The Independent

The driver then fled, of course. Show Low Police apprehended the suspect and shot him. At this time there haven’t been any details as to why the shooting but you can see from the photos the pickup driver rolled the truck in the process.

At this time the suspect has not been identified, police say only he is a 35 year-old Caucasian male, and lives in the area; he was being treated for the gunshot.

UPDATE: Motorist rams bicyclists Saturday morning, 7 critical

ShowlowPD facebook post; another SLPD facebook post

According to the Bike the Bluff race’s official website this was a tragic “ACCIDENT”? #droptheaword

Suspect Identified

Daily Mail is reporting:

Driver, 35, who ‘deliberately plowed his pickup truck into cyclists injuring six during Arizona bike race’ as it’s revealed he’s ex-convict who has  ‘an extensive criminal history of driving while intoxicated.’

– Shawn Chock, 35, identified as the driver who cops say crashed into group of cyclists taking part in weekend bike race in Show Low, Arizona
– Chock is in stable condition at the hospital after being shot by police
– Chock is accused of deliberately plowing his Ford F-150 pickup truck into cyclists, leaving six critically injured
– Court records indicate Chock has a history of DUI arrests
– In 2010, Chock pleaded guilty to felony aggravated DUI and shoplifting; he also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault
– Cyclist Tony Quinones said he was about six minutes into the race when he saw the truck cross over three lanes and head straight for the cyclists

Here are the two prior cases mentioned in the news article from Maricopa County Superior Court:

Yikes, lots of probation, lots of repeating probation problems, lots of prosecutors (and judges must go along with it) calling serious crimes “non-dangerous” (e.g. non-dangerous Felony DUI? non-dangerous felony Aggravated Assault?). Hmmm.

Sentencing

Chock was sentenced in a plea deal in Sept 2022 to 26.5 years prison. see Chock is guilty, will get 26.5 years in White Mountain Independent.

I read it kindof quick; i think the bottom line was the main charge of one 2nd degree murder was 16 years, and one class 2 aggravated assault (when he rammed or tried to ram a police officer after being cornered) yielded 10.5 (the presumptive for a class 2)… But to be served consecutively. The other 9 aggravated assaults are class 3’s but to be served concurrent.

Here’s another mention of the sentence from Fox10 news.

See here for some stats about multiple bicycle crashes; they represent a vanishing small fraction of total reported bike-MV crashes, about 1 out of 2,500.

 

One thought on “Show Low driver rams bicyclists, 7 critical”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *