Cycling, traffic safety, traffic justice, and legal topics; energy, transit and transportion economics
[ SUSPECT ARRESTED: Alexandra Mendez in connection with this fatal hit and run. By the way, “people” often say hit-and-run drivers not immediately captured in effect can’t be prosecuted — tell that to Christophen Wakefield Chevalier who went to prison for 5 years after driving up on a Phoenix sidewalk in 2013 killing someone and fleeing. He did his best to hide the car, but it just wasn’t good enough]
Continue reading “SENTENCED; driver kills man on Northern Ave, Glendale”
Joining the “seriously, how often does stuff like this happen?” file.
Answer is with alarming regularity.
No one is safe from traffic violence.
12/17/2021 7:30AM Pedestrian was walking along Cornell near Forest; this is the neighborhood adjoining Kiwanis park in Tempe. This is a residential area, traffic engineers would call Cornell Drive “collector” street.
The driver, of course, fled the scene. He was later arrested for susp of hit-and-run, and manslaughter and a few other things. Continue reading “Man drives up on sidewalk, killed pedestrian in his Tempe neighborhood”
12/16/2021 ~ 10pm
“in the area of 34th Street and McDowell Road, according to a Phoenix Police Department news release… Jeffrey Ray, 53, was riding a bicycle and crossing McDowell Road mid-block”
“A sedan driven by 18-year-old Javon Holston was traveling east on McDowell Road when the vehicle struck Ray and continued driving, according to police officials. Officers found Holston and took him into custody.” — azcentral Continue reading “Bicyclist killed crossing McDowell Rd, Phx by hit-and-run driver”
This is a story from Boulder, CO
The story doesn’t say how the driver was caught — but it’s heartening to see law enforcement keep after these dangerous criminals — hit and run is a felony in Arizona as I’m sure it is also in Colorado. Again, no legal details at this level but the end result was the driver was sentenced to 2.5 years. And, oh yeah, the driver was uninsured (of course).
There are numerous examples of outstanding police-work hit and run cases in Arizona that I am aware of… I’m sure there are more but e.g. the alleged killer of GCU student and jogger Taylor White took 3 years.
According to the sparse details of the crash itself, on a Saturday afternoon in 2019, a van driver, Stephen Grattan, drifted from the lane onto a wide shoulder for unknown reasons (drunk? high? sleeping?), and struck the bicyclist from behind.
Andrew Bernstein on Hit-and-Run That Nearly Killed Him, Search for Justice and Life Now
The victim’s statement at sentencing I found quite well-stated: Continue reading “Hit-run driver eludes capture for a year — sentenced”
10/14/2021 ~ 7PM Hit and run. Few details, e.g. no description of suspect vehicle, the name of the victim was not released; the direction of the bicyclist is mentioned but not of the suspect vehicle (which police probably do know, but didn’t mention). Don’t expect to ever hear about this incident ever again, other than in 2021 statistics. “The media” just doesn’t follow up.
These “falling into the roadway” incidents typically happen when a bicyclist, especially when going counter-flow, fall off the sidewalk, for whatever reason and the sudden jarring of coming down off the curb into the road causes a further loss of control; and are subsequently struck by a passing motorist. These types of fatal crashed don’t happen a lot, but they do happen, here’s one from 2014 in Phoenix. (according to FARS, the bicyclist in the 2014 incident had a BAC of .18 ; which probably why the cyclist lost control while avoiding a telephone pole).
On other complaints — A more accurate headline would read:
8/31/2021 6pm hit and run driver kills bicyclist Mark Tohe in laveen (west Phoenix). Baseline road near 75th Ave. For whatever reason, police have released virtually no details. No descriptions… “Phoenix police said they are conducting an investigation into the incident and are looking for the driver, who fled before police arrived.”
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.
Continue reading “Show Low driver rams bicyclists, 7 critical”
6/9/2021 ~ 2:30AM Alma School near Galveston, Chandler, AZ
Police say that the hit-and-run suspect vehicle is a Dodge Ram, found nearby, and arrested 48-year-old Ryan Sean Pereira. The dead bicyclist was identified as 40-year-old Joseph Theodore Kowalczyk
Continue reading “Bicyclist dead along Alma School; pickup driver arrested”
5/25/2021 6:30AM. McDowell Mountain Road near milepost 2 (here is a random spot on that road). Bicyclist killed after being struck by a driver who fled the scene. Suspect vehicle is this heavily damaged Toyota pickup truck; and the driver was arrested. Continue reading “Cyclist killed on McDowell Mnt Rd; driver flees; suspect arrested”
5/4/2021 “shortly after midnight”. Not much to go on here. No vehicle description…
A driver southbound on Country Club near Eighth Ave, Mesa struck and killed a bicyclist. The driver left the scene. Continue reading “Man on bicycle killed in hit-and-run CC Drive in Mesa”
The driver of a white pickup careened onto the sidewalk, striking two ASU students walking on the sidewalk, injuring one seriously; the driver fled.
DUI remains a huge threat/problem; are we doing enough to remove illegal drivers from the road? The man arrested was FTA (failure to appear) since Jan 2020 on a November 2019 DUI and driving (then) on a suspended license which was suspended for yet another DUI. Continue reading “Driver rams into two on sidewalk at Rural and Apache; suspect arrested”
April 8, 2018 a hit/run driver killed Taylor White, a 21 y.o. GCU student that was jogging in a crosswalk.
Three years later, a driver was arrest on susp of 2nd degree murder (and presumably, leaving the scene of a fatal). There is much that is not said in the news article. 2nd degree murder indicates police believe they can prove the driver not only caused the crash that resulted (it was in a crosswalk, so that’s probably covered), but that the driver was doing something particularly reckless at the time — normally the only thing that will ever rise to that level is intoxication. The article says nothing about why he was charged that way.
This wouldn’t be the first time diligent policework led to a driver’s hit-and-run arrest much later, see e.g. hit-and-run-and-good-old-fashioned-policework/
Continue reading “Driver arrested in hit/run death of jogger in 2018”
Raul Meza Portillo was arrested in connection with last night's fatal hit and run crash at Mill/Baseline. Portillo struck the victim who was on a bike and dragged her several hundred feet before leaving the scene. Impairment may be a factor. He is facing 2 felony charges. pic.twitter.com/qHuR2xfxuS
— Tempe Police Department (@TempePolice) April 3, 2021
Crash Friday evening around 7:30PM, 4/2/2021. Tempe police say a driver of a pickup towing a trailer made a left northbound Mill turning onto westbound Baseline collided with a 41 y.o. female bicycle. She was dragged to her death, and the driver fled the scene. Police arrested a suspect, Raul Meza Portillo, around 1AM at his home. That he was held on suspicion of 2nd degree murder, as well as leaving the scene indicate police believe he both was intoxicated at the time, and caused the crash.
Continue reading “Tempe woman killed at Mill and Baseline in hit-run; suspect arrested”
2/15/2021 ~ 4PM. Driver was sb on 98th St at Broadway Rd and failed to yield at a stop sign to a motorized bicyclist wb along Broadway. The motorized bicyclist sustained life-threatening injuries. The driver fled the scene, a neighbor recognized the car, and MSCO deputies made an arrest. Continue reading “hit and run in East Mesa; driver arrested”
12/17/2020, Thursday night (time not specified; also victim’s name not released). The driver of a Ford F-150 left the road near West Grant & North Oracle crashing thru a fence into a backyard striking and killing a person there, then ran away. Police think the driver may have been drunk.
Continue reading “Man killed by hit-run driver in Tucson backyard”