Man drives up on sidewalk, killed pedestrian in his Tempe neighborhood

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”

Driver kills man at south Phoenix bus stop

Scene of the Mesa fatal in September

A phrase you’ll often hear connected with these sorts of incidents is the victim(s) were in the “wrong place at the wrong time”. Well it seems that the wrong place is anyplace; and the wrong time is anytime morning noon or night.

About a week ago, Pima County “Administrator Chuck Huckelberry experienced life-threatening injuries after a driver of a car made an unsafe lane change and collided with another vehicle that caused it to careen into Huckelberry as he rode his bike…” tucson.com Incidentally, the driver was apparently charged with a 28-672, a criminal misdemeanor; the news story refers only to a “citation” which while true isn’t the usual nomenclature. Continue reading “Driver kills man at south Phoenix bus stop”

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”

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

Continue reading “Show Low driver rams bicyclists, 7 critical”

Bicyclist dead along Alma School; pickup driver arrested

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”

Police ID truck driver accused of killing 1 bicyclist, injuring 4 more in Flagstaff

5/28/2021 ~ 7PM. The driver of a tow truck struck a group of six cyclists at the intersection of Butler and Beaver, Flagstaff. The driver was arrested; presumably because police say at the time he ran a red light, while the group of bicyclists was proceeding on a green. One bicyclist, Joanne Wheaton, was killed, and four or five others were injured. Continue reading “Police ID truck driver accused of killing 1 bicyclist, injuring 4 more in Flagstaff”

Driver rams into two on sidewalk at Rural and Apache; suspect arrested

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”

hit and run in East Mesa; driver 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”

Driver veers into Scottsdale Bike Lane; kills woman and injures man

2/18/2021 One bicyclist was killed and another injured and taken to hospital when a driver “veered” into a BL along Legacy Blvd, near scottsdale Road,  Scottsdale (here’s a sample google street view of the area; location not exact). Continue reading “Driver veers into Scottsdale Bike Lane; kills woman and injures man”

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

 

Continue reading “Police arrest driver in high-speed crash that killed 2”

Man killed by hit-run driver in Tucson backyard

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”

Cottonwood PD seek hit and run suspect in bicyclist injury crash

9/28/2020 Injury collision at intersection of N. Willard Street and N. Main Street Cottonwood. Driver fled. Police believe the driver is identified as mentioned below. This is a ‘T’ intersection with Main continuing through, and Willard on the stem of the ‘T’ having a stop sign.

A hit-and-run involving injury or death is a felony, varying from a class 5  to class 2; depending on the extent of the injuries.

Continue reading “Cottonwood PD seek hit and run suspect in bicyclist injury crash”

Driver critically injures Mesa Police officer in freeway crash

8/11/2020 around 11am. Horrendous crash on US60 near Greenfield. Is it really too much to ask drivers to look where they are driving? The driver of an enormous* SUV plowed into the rear end of a stopped police cruiser, seriously injuring the officer.

Mesa officer, woman injured in multivehicle crash on east U.S. 60 near Greenfield Road

No word on why the driver wasn’t in control of her vehicle. How will this be handled? for comparison, see: Continue reading “Driver critically injures Mesa Police officer in freeway crash”

Drifting driver kills bicyclist in Scottsdale

[Updated March 23, 2022 — nearly two years have gone by and no prosecution has taken place at least according to records search. I have no idea why. If MCSO is not going to ever bring the felony charge, the City of Scottsdale Prosecutor’s office can and should charge the misdemeanor version — 28-672; which has a TWO year statute of limitations… TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE]

5/23/2020 Morning, eastbound Happy Valley Rd near 91st St. An SUV driver “drifted over the fog line” and killed a bicyclist, 48 y.o. Miodrag Milovanovic.

Continue reading “Drifting driver kills bicyclist in Scottsdale”

Woman bicyclist killed in collision w/truck, horse-trailer

5/10/2020 ~7PM. 32nd St and Broadway Rd, Phoenix. victim 35-year-old Nicole Hicks.

Sunset was 7:19PM so not dark; depending on direction, sun glare could have been a factor.

The news description was a bit light on details; other than to mention the bicyclist was in a crosswalk, and that “Police say the driver failed to stop for a red light and was issued citations”.  No directions were included.

If the driver “ran” a red light, they should be charged with 28-672. It could also or additionally be a right-turn-on-red error. A somewhat common scenario is a driver approaching a red light rolls through while turning without looking or seeing a counter-flow bicyclist that has entered the crosswalk on a green/walk. Continue reading “Woman bicyclist killed in collision w/truck, horse-trailer”