[Jan 2016: case finally resolved, defendant/driver convicted and sentenced, see below.] Woman walking on the sidewalk in broad daylight killed by a hit-and-runner, Sunday March 3, 2013. I say ‘another’ because it was only about a week ago another unforunate soul was hit just standin-on-the-corner; fortunately she wasn’t killed. Seriously, how often does this happen? Continue reading “Driver Convicted: Another ped gets whacked on Phoenix SIDEWALK”
Tag: ped fatality
Man killed while mowing the grass
[ Update: 3/6/2015. One of the drivers has plead guilty to manslaughter and agg assault in a deal ]
Killed while mowing the grass? Seriously, how often does this stuff happen? 52nd and Earll in Phoenix is a residential neighborhood:
Jose Angel Gonzales, 17, and Esteban Chavez Jr., 16, were reportedly racing down a residential street near Earll Drive and 52nd Street (Phoenix) on March 26, when Gonzalez blew through a stop sign and collided with a Toyota pickup. The pickup crashed through a cinder block wall and hit Grijalva, 61, who was mowing a lawn. — azcental.com
Octavio Grijalva Herrera later died of his injuries. The teens have since been indicted on eight charges including manslaughter, endangerment; Chavez was also charged with leaving the scene.
Automobiles are frequently driven negligently and go careening all over the place; like the Maricopa county deputy who was speeding 81mph along a Glendale street recently… fortunately only 1 person was killed in that incident; as can be easily seen from the video it’s only a matter of coincidence and luck that more weren’t killed by the out-of-control vehicles.
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The Arizona Republic had a nice, tear-jerking story reflecting on the victim. Phoenix landscaper killed by crash remembered, who was a veritable caricature of a hard-working immigrant (permanent legal resident; in case anyone was wondering). The story, as if on cue said “On this particular day, Hererra was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”, which is undoubtedly true.
Another stroller death; Toddler killed in Phoenix Walmart parking lot
incident 1pm Thursday March 20, 2014 on a “private access road” near 75th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix . Hints from the news story indicate this will likely be a non-traffic death (occurred “on a private access-road”) — meaning this could be one of the many automobile deaths that aren’t counted in the official statistics. Around 32,000 Americans are killed each year in traffic collisions –according to official statistics — how many more are there? [UPDATE: contrary to what I wrote at the time, this incident DID make it into FARS, incident 40170 ; I didn’t look these up but PEDCTYPE: 770 / PEDSNR: 4a / PEDCGP: 750; also of note, the PBPTYPE was “Pers Convey”]
No names released (so will be, of course, difficult to follow up on); only ages: dead is a 3-year-old boy, slightly injured is a female babysitter; the driver is a 22-year-old man. The business about drugs seems highly speculative and the likely investigation outcome will find this to have been an unavoidable “accident” — meaning for some reason the driver, despite what obviously must have been limited sight-distances, wasn’t expected to simply drive a little more slowly. Why not? Continue reading “Another stroller death; Toddler killed in Phoenix Walmart parking lot”
Police Identify Woman Run Over, Killed by SUV
This is a non-traffic traffic fatality. (meaning it doesn’t get reflected in traffic stats)…
Police ID woman run over, killed at Scottsdale Costco
A Fountain Hills woman who was run over and killed at a Scottsdale Costo on Saturday (01/04/2014) was identified by Scottsdale police Sunday. Police said Patricia A. Covault, 74, died after she was accidentally stuck by a Jeep SUV at the Costco gas station at 15255 N. Hayden Road. Covault was hit when she walked around her own vehicle after the 86-year-old man driving the Jeep SUV backed into her vehicle parked at a gas pump, police said. The man backed over Covault and dragged her a short distance, according to police. She was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges will be filed against the driver of the SUV, Scottsdale police spokesman Officer Dave Pubins said in a statement.
3 year-old squashed to death in crosswalk
3 year-old Anthony Meade was squashed to death in crosswalk at 20th and Camelback Rd, Phoenix on 12/4/2013 ~ 7:30PM. The driver (whose name apparently has not been released and is referred to only as a 26-year-old) was driving a 2009 Toyota Tundra, a large pickup…
All parties were northbound; the driver making a left from 20th Street onto Camelback, and the peds were crossing Camelback at the intersection. Continue reading “3 year-old squashed to death in crosswalk”
Driver careens out of control after making bad left; killing and maiming peds ON THE SIDEWALK
Seriously, how often does stuff like this happen? More peds wiped out on the sidewalk. 11/30/2013 2:15pm 67th and Glendale Aves… In addition to the dead ped, another ped, and the driver have “life-threatening” injuries. A glendale pd officer was also injured less seriously. Continue reading “Driver careens out of control after making bad left; killing and maiming peds ON THE SIDEWALK”
Fatal pedestrian crashes reach record level in City of Tucson
Fresh on the heels of Another-Speedway-crosswalk-ped-death (10/20/2013); the azstarnet.com is reporting ped fatal in the City of Tucson are at record levels: “Twenty-one people have died when they were walking or hit by a vehicle since the beginning of the year (the year is 2013, as of late-October). The average for the Tucson area is 15 pedestrian deaths per year”. I doubt fancy engineering, like HAWKs, can have much of an overall effect — rather the Tucson area, like the Phoenix metro area, is simply Dangerous by Design. Things like a handful of extra blinkie crosswalks are merely a band-aid over the (apparently worsening) problem. “transportation agencies typically prioritize speeding traffic over the safety of people on foot… Pedestrian fatalities have fallen at only half the rate of motorists, dropping by just over 14 percent during the period (2000-2009). In many places, including 15 of the country’s largest metro areas, pedestrian fatalities have actually increased even as overall traffic deaths fell”. This preference for extra lanes and speeding-up motorists it detrimental to the safety of motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists — all road users!
Another Speedway crosswalk ped death
Crosswalk ped death of Matthew Bono 10/20/2013, initially hit-and-run; driver returned and was arrested on suspicion of 2nd degree murder (dui). The crash was at East Speedway and North Richey.
This death comes just a couple of weeks and less than 1/2 mile away from after another Speedway crosswalk ped death “…Simon Foster, 7, whose father, Don, took him and his sister, Charlie, 5, to dinner at McDonald’s at East Speedway and North Alvernon Way the evening of Sept. 29. Afterward, as they were crossing Speedway, on a green light and in the crosswalk, a driver simply turned right (on red) and plowed into them, police reports say. That driver, 31-year-old Saylee Solo,…”. Sol was later charged with causing a death w/moving violation, a misdemeanor. Continue reading “Another Speedway crosswalk ped death”
Driver slams into day spa; 1 dead, 4 go hospital
[Updated; as expected/suspected this death and injuries DO NOT appear in official crash records from ADOT, nor will they appear in the FARS when that is released. See this comment for how I checked asdm]
9/27/2013. A story like this, besides being a tragedy, tends to make headlines (even going national, usatoday.com story) but, Seriously, how often does stuff like this happen? Apparently regularly; like the shopper killed inside a Tucson convenience store in July…. or… 11-year old boy dead in a Phoenix parking lot in May… or … 2 Dead in Phoenix after pickup slams into bus stop in March… or… 1 Dead at a Peoria Walgreens sitting on the bench in front of store in 2010… This is just what i noticed reading the paper; These were all in the recent past, just in Arizona. This is not a complete list! ha. Continue reading “Driver slams into day spa; 1 dead, 4 go hospital”
Woman dies after minivan crashes into Tucson 7-Eleven
A shopper (pedestrian?) was killed while shopping inside a Tucson 7-Eleven (7/7/2013). “The driver, 52-year-old Hassan Madex was cited for one count of causing serious injury or death by a moving violation, a misdemeanor offense”. That would be 28-672, this is a very low-level misdemeanor.
Seriously? Inside the store? How often does stuff like this happen? (pretty often, follow this link to my long and growing list of these “freak accidents” that aren’t so unusual when it comes to automobiles
I wonder if it happening on private property will have any (legal) ramifications? I guess the incident clearly began on the roadway so I suspecet it won’t have any impact.
Continue reading “Woman dies after minivan crashes into Tucson 7-Eleven”
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on sidewalk dies
Another, seriously how often does this happen?
Woman killed by truck identified
A pickup truck full of teenagers struck and killed a 23-year-old woman named Jackie Ruiz Saturday (2/2/2013) afternoon as she was walking on the sidewalk near 19th Ave and Thunderbird Road. Police say the 1997 Dodge 2500 pickup up truck was swerving before it left the roadway and went up on the sidewalk hitting Ruiz and then barreled into an apartment patio wall…The driver was identified as an 18 year old male. He had three other teens with him, said Phoenix Police Sgt. Steve Martos…
Think you’re safe in your car?
Man arrested in I-17 fatal crash in north Phoenix
Police have arrested a man suspected of killing a 61-year-old man in a high-speed collision on Interstate 17 in north Phoenix on Monday night (6/17/2013), a Department of Public Safety official said Tuesday…. Police say the white sedan was driven by Vick A. House (the victim)… Police are not releasing the name of the suspect yet.
…
Car plows into bus stop killing 1; DUI likely, police say
Really? Oh yeah, and of course it was hit-and-run. Oh, yeah, witnesses say the driver ran a red light. incident occurred 5/13/2013 around 0400.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Car-plows-into-bus-stop-1-dead-2-suspects-on-the-loose-207185831.html
Dead ped at a bus stop? Seriously, how often do thinkgs like this happen? Pretty often apparently. And, oh yeah, in March a suspected dui driver slammed into a Phoenix bus stop and killed 2 people — at least that guy didn’t (or couldn’t) hit-and-run.
Oh well back to the present case, excerpts:
One person is dead, a second is injured and a third is in police custody after a car plowed into a Phoenix bus stop before sunrise Monday. Police believe the driver, a 22-year-old Hispanic woman, was impaired at the time of the wreck…. According to police, a black sedan was heading north on 27th Avenue when the driver ran a red light. She swerved to avoid two cars, veered off the road and slammed into the bus stop by the 7-Eleven at Indian School Road… Harry Cleveland, 50, was sitting on the bus bench when the car hit it. He took the brunt of the impact and died about an hour later at a local hospital. A 20-year-old man who had been sitting on another bench, was taken to a local hospital, as well. His condition was not immediately available. A 19-year-old woman who also was waiting at the bus stop managed to dodge the out-of-control car and avoid injury…. Witnesses told investigators that the driver, now identified as Elsa Olivares, and the passenger ran away from the scene. Police checked the vehicle’s registration and went to the address listed. While en route to that apartment, police received a call from Olivares. After telling them she was involved in the crash, she turned herself in.
Update
Late May, the suspect entered not-guilty pleas to all charges, the usual litany: 2nd Degree Murder, agg assault, endangerment, leaving the scene of a fatal. You can read all about it case lookup (or here at Maricopa County Superior Court directly) St of AZ Vs. Elsa Priscila Olivares CR-2013421459; case minutes. State’s Attorney is Rebecca Kennelly. Defendant’s Attorney is presently Jesus Acosta (i believe appointed?). This is a “complex case”. Trial is currently set for mid-January 2014.
Formal list of charges:
13-1103 (F2) MANSLAUGHTER 5/13/2013
13-1204 (F3) AGGRAVATED ASSAULT 5/13/2013
13-1201 (F6) ENDANGERMENT 5/13/2013
28-661 (F2) HIT AND RUN W/DEATH/INJURY
Arrest made in boy’s hit-and-run parking lot death
[Update: Driver Mabior Ding, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years supervised probation, as part of a plea deal; charges of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal collision kpho.com. There is/was some suggestion or confusion that leaving the scene cannot apply to private property?? Also notable, this incident does NOT appear in official traffic records; perhaps because it was private property(?)]
Phew, the horrendous news just keeps on coming
An 11-year old boy was killed May 25(?), 2013. The driver initially tried to help the victim, but then fled the scene. The boy was walking with his mother in the an apartment complex parking lot when he became pinned to a cinder block wall by a driver backing up. Killed while walking in a parking lot? Seriously, how often does stuff like this happen? Continue reading “Arrest made in boy’s hit-and-run parking lot death”
Phoenix police officer dies in fatal hit-and-run
[Update: driver sentenced, see below] Although it seems obvious that police work is dangerous because there are bad guys with guns trying to kill them; roughly the same number of policeman killed in the line of duty die as the result of a traffic collision than by being shot (or stabbed)….
May 19, 2013 ~ 3:30a, Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz was killed while “processing a DUI suspect near 51st and Cambridge avenues when he was struck by a green Ford Expedition, which then fled the scene”. azcentral.com. The story doesn’t give much detail, I would assume from what was presented he was a pedestrian, which is consistent with the picture of the SUV that struck Raetz, which police released later. Continue reading “Phoenix police officer dies in fatal hit-and-run”
Phx PD Officer’s SUV hit by red-light runner
A Phoenix police officer was injured in a collision with red-light-runner at Sweetwater and 43rd Ave. The red-light-runner was described only as “elderly”. As a result of the collision, both vehicles careened out of control up and over the sidewalks, one striking a tree and another a wall. Although there were three fairly minor injuries, it appears serious injury (or fatality) was only avoided by a stroke of luck that no one was walking there. How often do cars drive up over the sidewalk?
azcentral.com news report:
A car reportedly ran a red light and slammed into a Phoenix police SUV, leaving the officer and two others injured Thursday morning, according to authorities. The police SUV was heading east on Sweetwater Avenue about 9:30 a.m., said Lt. Ben Leuschner of the Phoenix Police Department. The car, with an elderly couple inside, was going south on 43rd Avenue. The car ran a red light and slammed into the police SUV, according to police. The car ended up hitting a wall and the police SUV was pushed off the side of the road. All three people had to be extricated from their vehicles. The officer’s injuries weren’t considered serious. The conditions of the people in the car weren’t immediately available.
I don’t know anything about that area of town, however, I will comment that Sweetwater looks like a nice calm road, whereas 43rd Ave is a standard city of Phoenix car-sewer.
Tragedies just keep on coming
… A few days later on May 19th, Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz was killed while “processing a DUI suspect near 51st and Cambridge avenues when he was struck by a green Ford Expedition, which then fled the scene”. azcentral.com. The story doesn’t give much detail, i would assume from what was presented he was a pedestrian.
Continue reading “Phx PD Officer’s SUV hit by red-light runner”