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”

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 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”

Warner Road Crash; Serious Injury, Driver Arrested

Massive crash mid-morning Tuesday Aug 16, 2022 about 9:00 a.m. Warner Road between Juniper and Lakeshore (a.k.a. Dorsey Ln) in southern Tempe.

Police had eastbound traffic diverted most of the day, indicating serious injury or fatality.

It would appear high speeds are involved (the red vehicle pictured came to rest 200′ east of the intersection where the collision occurred) but no information seems to have been released by Tempe pd, no news, etc.

If you have any information, please leave a comment below. This is a little over a mile away from the spot on Rural Road where a driver lost control and killed a woman sitting at a bus stop earlier this year.


Below is what police told me a few days later; it’s odd it wasn’t (apparently?) sent to the news media, I also note that the name of driver who was arrested was not revealed (arrestees are usually named)… will need to get a police report, but that won’t be available for awhile.
Circumstances indicate police would looking at felony criminal charge.
The details, such as they are, don’t indicate which driver was arrested. However, besides impairment, the condition of the red vehicle, plus where it came to rest ( a couple hundred feet) indicates excessive speed.

———- Forwarded message ———
Date: Fri, Aug 19, 2022 at 2:47 PM
Subject: RE: Warner Rd Crash Fwd: Recent roadway fatalities and severe crashes

On Tuesday at approximately 9:50 a.m. Tempe PD worked a two-vehicle collision near E Warner Rd and S Dorsey Ln. One of the subjects was transported to the hospital with a serious physical injury that was not life-threatening. The collision caused the eastbound lanes on Warner Rd at Lakeshore Dr. to be closed for a bit. During the investigation on the scene, the driver of the other vehicle was placed under arrest; impairment was a factor.

Best,
Tempe Police Media Relations Unit
480-350-8311
480-341-0441 (cell)
policepio@tempe.gov


See comment below for another violent turning-error crash along Warner at Hardy in Feb 2023 that sent a vehicle out of control through the BL and up on the sidewalk; anyone walking or riding there would have been seriously injured or worse. See March 2023 Tucson fatality where a motorist left-turn error caused a 2-vehicle crash that resulted in the death of a cyclist when one of vehicles careeened onto the sidewalk.

Passenger dead, driver arrested in Gilbert Rd single-vehicle crash

photo: Mesa PD

You are not safe; you are not safe driving in a car; you are not safe riding in a car; you are not safe in the daytime; you are not safe walking on the sidewalk; you are not safe riding in a bike lane; you are not safe riding a bike on the sidewalk; you are not safe riding in a “protected” bike lane. You are not safe. Continue reading “Passenger dead, driver arrested in Gilbert Rd single-vehicle crash”

Speeding driver kills two in east Mesa; arrested

Tuesday afternoon 3/22/2022 5:30pm.

Mesa police say 21 y.o. driver Gezane Izreal Cabanillas-Lape was speeding at ~ 100mph along Main street (aka Apache Blvd) at Windsor and struck a minivan; killing both elderly occupants. Police arrested the driver on susp of 2nd degree murder, along with agg assault due to his passenger’s injuries, the news item mentions that impairment is not suspected.

Continue reading “Speeding driver kills two in east Mesa; arrested”

Wrong way driver leaves two dead on Price Road in Tempe

Stock photo of aftermath of fatal wrong-way wreck

11/1/2021 ~ 11:30pm. Two of the four people in a car being driven the wrong way by a 17 y.o. male died when that vehicle collided with another. The driver of that other vehicle sustained serious injuries. The driver has not been charged, investigation is ongoing; and police haven’t hinted at why the driver made this fatal error. Most wrong-way drivers are impaired.

Price road here is a “frontage” road which parallels the Price Freeway / Loop 202. It’s configured as a separated one-way running along both sides of the freeway (i.e. on the west side, it’s only southbound; and on the east it’s only northbound). They didn’t say specifically where along Price the incident occurred but here is a sample intersection (e.g. at Southern); another possibility for going the wrong way would be for a driver to turn left from a side-street (only rights are permitted. I’m a little surprised there aren’t diverters on the side-street to make it more difficult to turn left).

McClintock High School senior identified as victim in Tempe wrong-way crash

Aldous Harris, a 17-year-old McClintock High School senior, was one of two victims who died during a wrong-way collision on Monday on Price Road in Tempe, police officials said Wednesday… According to police, a single driver who was headed south on Price Road was struck by a wrong-way driver headed north in the southbound lanes…A 23-year-old woman was driving the right way when she was struck by a northbound vehicle, according to Tempe Police Department spokesperson Natalie Barela. She remains in the hospital with serious injuries, according to police.

The wrong-way driver was a 17-year-old boy whom The Arizona Republic is not yet naming because he is a minor and has not been charged with a crime as of Wednesday afternoon. He sustained injuries that were not life-threatening and his case is being submitted for review by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Barela said…

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Police: Driver that killed officer ran red light

Not much remains of this full-sized SUV that was struck by a sedan at a right angle.

5/31/2021 Monday night. Phoenix police officer killed by reported red-light runner Police say the driver of a sedan ran a red light, apparently at extremely high speed, causing an apocalyptic crash with a Phoenix police full-sized SUV at the intersection Cave Creek Road & Greenway Parkway. Both drivers are dead; the sedan driver was identified as “31-year-old Christopher Castro, died at the scene. Police say speed and impairment by Castro are believed to be contributing factors to the crash… The force of the crash caused the officer’s vehicle to crash through a brick wall and into a gas station parking lot.” Continue reading “Police: Driver that killed officer ran red light”

Driver kills self and another in rush-hour 202 Santan freeway

Monday around 6pm. The driver of a large SUV entered the 202/Santan freeway off-ramp at Alma School, causing a head-on crash killing herself and another woman.

Maybe the sun was in her eyes?

“…Investigators learned a white GMC Yukon entered the highway going the wrong direction on the Alma School Road off-ramp. The driver, 30-year-old Sarah Walterscheid, accelerated at a high rate of speed into oncoming traffic, hitting a Kia head-on…”, killing 44-year-old Jackie Keeper. https://www.abc15.com/traffic/two-dead-in-crash-involving-wrong-way-driver-along-loop-202-santan

Police arrest driver in high-speed crash that killed 2

Drivers tend to lie after doing something bad.

Also of interest, it’s normally the left-turners “fault”; in this instance the left-turner is dead, but when the other (going straight ahead) driver is doing something horrendously wrong, charges can crop up. See e.g. bad-drivers-and-friendsofcalholman-com

 

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SE Valley bleed sheet 8/31 edition

From last week’s roundup of traffic mayhem in the southeast Valley:

8/31/2020 around 8pm BE ON THE LOOKOUT Suspect vehicle left scene described as dark SUV towing 10-12 ft. flatbed trailer, contact Chandler PD near Chandler Blvd and McQueen fatal ped hit-run:

Continue reading “SE Valley bleed sheet 8/31 edition”

Ahwatukee gunbattle

For the Ahwatukee archives: April 2019 high speed chase ending in a five-vehicle  crash and ensuing gunbattle; one federal agent’s truck careened over the curb and crashed through a wall.

Not exactly usual traffic but certainly not all that unusual — drivers jumping curbs, smashing lightposts, walls, killing joggers, etc. on a routine basis.

We see now, a year later, the now dead driver was severely impaired by drugs: “Only later, after an autopsy and toxicology report, was it revealed that she had near-fatal levels of methamphetamine in her body, which could have explained much of her [erratic] driving behavior…’The effect of methamphetamine would be related to increased risk-taking behavior, more aggressive behavior, potentially erratic driving,’ said Stripp, a forensic toxicologist … ‘They may speed, they may run red lights.'”

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Drag racer convicted in fatal Ahwatukee crash

[by the way, this is just another incident where a driver drove up over the sidewalk. In this instance “only” a motorist was killed but obviously anyone on the sidewalk would have killed or seriously injured]

This is a historical/archive incident occurring nearly two decades ago… involving very fast driving as well as DUI, that as a result a Domino’s pizza delivery driver was killed. The claim that the delivery driver was at fault, he emerged from a driveway, for causing the crash did not prevent the fast & drinking driver from being convicted at jury trial of 2nd Degree Murder (and also hit-and-run).

July 4, 2001 just after midnight. Warner-Elliot, just S of Equestrian, Phoenix (Ahwatukee)

The crash involved 3 vehicles,  a third driver: Weston Doyle, 17 of yellow mustang was allegedly drag racing Sucharew. Dolye lost control but didn’t hit either of the other cars and crashed into a block wall. Sucharew was charged with 2nd degree homicide and leaving the scene (hiding in a yard!), was driving a white eclipse and the victim was driving a red Mitsubishi. story lead section B on 7/5/2001. Traveling between 70 and 80mph… “Alcohol was believed to be involved, but a driving-under-the-influence charge will not be filed because of the homicide charge, police said” Continue reading “Drag racer convicted in fatal Ahwatukee crash”