2017 cyclist fatality – Arizona Bike Law

2017 Arizona Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities

There were 32 reported bicyclist traffic fatalities in Arizona in 2017.

For a grid-view of each of the 32, see this google docs sheet, which cross-references everything.

16 of the incidents have individual articles about them (tagged 2017 cyclist fatality). Below is a narrative as much as can be determined from either a crash report, or simply the data; for each of the other 16 fatalities that are not other wise documented in an individual article. Continue reading “2017 Arizona Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities”

13-year-old boy struck, killed on sidewalk in south Phoenix by susp impaired driver

12/1/2017 ~ 1:30pm A SB driver 19th Ave near Broadway, Phoenix while speeding and illegally passing vehicles (i.e. driving SB in NB lanes), lost control and drove up on the sidewalk, killing 13 y.o. Cordell Gooch

Police say there were “early indications that the driver showed signs of impairment”

Continue reading “13-year-old boy struck, killed on sidewalk in south Phoenix by susp impaired driver”

ASU doctoral student killed in Tempe crosswalk crash

[ 1/29/2018 City of Tempe is considering changing cyclist right-of-way rules. This is potentially very involved and intricate. See both below, and also see letter and replies from Councilman Keating sent as CAZBike ]

[ 11/24 Updates on this shocking crosswalk fatality continue to ooze out from Tempe police, as the grieving family of Xiaoying Wen came to Tempe from China seeking answers; “Tempe police said both had the green light, but Wen failed to yield, and Tempe city law dictates that bicyclists must yield to motorists”. See below for this bad local law. LAB Bike Friendly GOLD? ]

The 11/21 News story says the crash occurred ‘last week” ? news media seems to report less and less.
Date: [Thursday 11/16/2017 ~ 4:15pm per comment below] Location: intersection of Rural Road and Vista del Cerro Drive
Continue reading “ASU doctoral student killed in Tempe crosswalk crash”

Serious injury crash Sahuarita

Crash October 13, 2017 ~ 1:30pm La Cañada (a.k.a. Rancho Resort Road) and Sahuarita Road. The description from the new report was, a driver “traveling north on [presumably South] La Cañada [Drive] collided with the bicyclist at the intersection of Sahuarita Road as the bicyclist tried to turn north [i.e. a right turn] from westbound Sahuarita Road” Continue reading “Serious injury crash Sahuarita”

PD: Bicyclist killed by impaired driver at South Mountain park in Phoenix

FINAL(?) UPDATE: sentencing occurred 10/14/2022; see discussion below.

10/29/2017 bicyclist killed in headon crash with wrong-way susp. impaired driver.
Summit Trail Road inside South Mountain Park, Phoenix. There were no specific location given, here is a sample of the Summit Road.

Continue reading “PD: Bicyclist killed by impaired driver at South Mountain park in Phoenix”

PD: Driver hit SUV, killed bicyclist in Glendale before hitting police car

[update: 9/28/2017 — driver charged w/ 2nd degree murder]
Impaired drivers remain a serious threat to bicyclists. And pedestrians. And other drivers. And passengers.

9/22/2017 “just after midnight” Bicyclist (60-year-old Peter Rankin) killed incidentally when a suspected impaired, speeding driver (Kevin Richard Hevel, 30) sideswiped another vehicle; jumped the curb onto the sidewalk where he struck and killed the bicyclist, kept going (of course) and continued on to rear-end a Glendale police cruiser. Near 59th and Glendale Ave, in Glendale, AZ. Continue reading “PD: Driver hit SUV, killed bicyclist in Glendale before hitting police car”

Bicyclist dies after being hit by a truck in west Phoenix

9/21/2017 around 6:45am. A male bicyclist killed in collision with a truck driver. The crash occurred on west Thomas Road, Phoenix; somewhere between 46th and 48th Ave.

There were no details released; the only tangential oddity was “The driver of the truck remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators but was later arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant” Continue reading “Bicyclist dies after being hit by a truck in west Phoenix”

Bicycle rider killed in collision with bus in Mesa

7/26/2017 ~ 8:40am. News reports Eastbound Bus on McKellips near Country Club crashed headon with a cyclist traveling westbound in the eastbound lane.

It was approaching the intersection of McKellips with Grand according to the map location in the news story. In a later news story a police spokesperson identified the bicyclist as Shedrick Galloway, 46/M, and said he “was hit when he veered in front of the bus”.

Wrong-way riding is a pretty common contributing factor in bike-mv collisions, however this type where the bicyclist is thought to have veered into the path of oncoming traffic is pretty rare. Another later news story relates that the bicyclist wasn’t feeling well and had already called a friend to come pick him up; so perhaps (speculation) he suffered some sort of medical emergency that caused the veering.

Continue reading “Bicycle rider killed in collision with bus in Mesa”

One dead in Maricopa vehicle-bicycle collision

Thursday 5/25/2017 morning. Driver WB on State Route 238 at milepost 43 struck and killed a bicyclist. The story doesn’t say, but the scenario suggests strike-from behind.

SR-238 (here it is near MP 42) is a high-speed rural highway.

Continue reading “One dead in Maricopa vehicle-bicycle collision”

Unknown 2016 Arizona Fatalities

This is an outline of each 2016 fatality that was unknown to me — or that could not be found by reverse-googling — until the database was released in mid-2017. See the full 2016 grid here.

There are 10 such incidents, not counting two additional exceedingly poorly-documented incidents that were also nowhere to be found in media report. That means that of total of 30 fatal incidents (31 fatalities, as one was double) in 2016, 18 were reported in the media while 12 were not — or at least not that I can find.

Continue reading “Unknown 2016 Arizona Fatalities”

Woman cyclist struck, killed in Arizona City

6/1/2017 ~ 7AM westbound Alsdorf near Durango, Arizona City, Pinal County. victim: Susan J. Stanisich, 75/F. Struck from behind by 2nd vehicle. The position of impact on the vehicle (the driver’s side) seems odd.

Continue reading “Woman cyclist struck, killed in Arizona City”

Bicyclist killed after colliding with commercial vehicle in Gilbert

5/31/2017 morning, 33/F victim Jenna Taylor was killed at the intersection of Val Vista and Ray Roads in Gilbert, AZ

A second bicyclist was involved but no info was released on them.

Continue reading “Bicyclist killed after colliding with commercial vehicle in Gilbert”

Driver kills Bullhead City cyclist; is arrested

5/5/2017 bicyclist Robert Dale Fox II was killed by driver Melanie Laverne Jones, and arrested on suspicion of 2nd degree murder
suspected and DUI.
The rear end collision occurred on SR95 between Home Depot and the USPS. (~ MP 249)

The outside lane appears to be quite ( ~ 14 feet plus a 2 foot gutter pan) wide, and the bicyclist was thrown into the curb. The motorist was likely swerved toward the curb. The body of that car is ~ 6 feet wide. Continue reading “Driver kills Bullhead City cyclist; is arrested”

Bicyclist killed in Baseline Road crash

4/26/2017 ~8am. Bicyclist Cindi Whitmore was killed after being struck by a truck driver in south Phoenix.

Both the truck and bicycle were traveling westbound, the truck collided with the bicyclist on Baseline near 36th Street.

Continue reading “Bicyclist killed in Baseline Road crash”

Bicyclist killed in southwest Phoenix crash

4/21/2017 ~4am. Bicyclist 24-year-old Devin Williams was killed at a signalized intersection 51st Ave & Baseline, Phoenix, in early morning hours crash. Police said the bicyclist was going against the light.

Continue reading “Bicyclist killed in southwest Phoenix crash”