Pickup Truck Driver Arrested After Killing Two Bicyclists, Injuring 11
An Arizona pickup truck driver has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault charges after crashing into a group of bicyclists on Saturday, killing two and injuring 11.
The Goodyear Police Department said officers responded to the scene of a “very serious crash” just before 8 a.m. in the Phoenix suburb, after authorities say a man – identified as Pedro Quintana-Lujan – drove into a group of cyclists.
A female victim was pronounced dead at the scene, with a male dying at a nearby hospital following the crash. Eleven other cyclists were transported to three different local hospitals with “various injuries,” according to police.
Quintana-Lujan remained at the scene after the deadly crash, authorities added.
Quintana-Lujan was ultimately arrested after questioning, and charged with two counts of manslaughter, three counts of aggravated assault, 18 counts of endangerment and two counts of causing serious injury or death during a moving violation.
The 26-year-old was booked at the Maricopa County Jail, where he was being held on $250,000 bond pending a court hearing on Friday (March 3), according to jail records.
Police said that one of the injured cyclists remained in life-threatening condition as of Sunday.
The fatal crash caused several road closures that lasted several hours as authorities responded to the scene.
The Goodyear Police Department’s Facebook page offered its condolences to the cycling community and the family of those victims who passed.
“The Goodyear Police department is deeply saddened by this tragedy and extends condolences to the loved ones of the victims as well as to the cycling community and the community as a whole.”
Local news outlet Arizona Family spoke with several members of the cycling community, who say they are feeling the loss while hoping their friends in the hospital recover soon.
The owner of Trek Bicycle West Phoenix, Brandon van Leuven, told the outlet that he personally knows four cyclists in the hospital, with one of them being his employee, 65-year-old Mike Smith.
“He’s seriously injured. He’s not going to be back for a long time,” said van Leuven.
Meanwhile, Paraic McGlynn, the owner of Cyclologic in Scottsdale, said one of the crash victims – identified by the outlet as Clay Wells – recently retired and has already undergone two surgeries since the crash.
“He’s had surgeries to stabilize his cerebral spine, and there are more surgeries to make sure they triage his injuries to ensure for little, long term damage as possible,” said McGlynn.
Van Leuven added “these people’s lives will never be the same again, even the ones that are going to come back to us and keep riding with us.”
No motive has been provided as of Monday, and it remains unclear whether the driver purposefully crashed his truck into the cyclists or if it was an accident fueled by drugs or alcohol.
An investigation into the tragic crash is still ongoing, according to police.
