Bystanders hurt/killed in high-speed chase I-10 Tucson

2026-01-27 12:30a. Ug. A pedestrian was injured and a bicyclist was killed as  a result of a driver, who was fleeing police at the time, crashing into them.

I assume, or hope, the DPS will be doing a thorough evaluation of the events vs. their protocols — the tragic outcome where un-involved people get hurt/killed a collateral damage during chases is exactly why police probably shouldn’t be doing high-speed chases in the first place. (Radios are MUCH faster than vehicles).  The chase began at MP252 on I-10 which is a several miles away from the Speedway exit where the chase ended, and the driver was shot by police. Continue reading “Bystanders hurt/killed in high-speed chase I-10 Tucson”

Another white Tesla hit-and-run, this one in Tempe on Baseline

By another, I mean just a few months ago back in October 2025 a hit-and-run driver of a “speeding” white tesla killed Will Castañeda in a marked crosswalk back in October of 2022 in Phoenix. No news. Did police ever find the driver? Oh well, what are you going to do? Tesla’s have instrumentation and telemetry up the wazoo.

So anyway, according to this lawyer-blog (not in the news, by the way, where do they get it? Citizen app? Don’t Tempe police consider this to be BOLO-worthy?). The incident described, hit-and-run w/injury,  is a felony crime.

A pedestrian suffered injuries after a traffic crash involving a vehicle on January 24 … The incident occurred around 8:19 p.m., near West Guadalupe Road and South Kyrene Road… According to initial information, a white Tesla struck the pedestrian and then left the area. Witnesses reported that the vehicle traveled west toward Colonial Place following the crash.

Emergency responders arrived and found the pedestrian conscious but injured. The person complained of back and wrist pain and showed visible bleeding…

 

Glendale passes ebike ordinance

Ug. So many words in this new ordinance O25-50. Read the whole thing here.

It makes bike lane use mandatory for ebicyclists, with exceptions; assuming the exceptions are well thought out — and I’m not sure they are — this isn’t necessarily a problem. But most troublesome is adding an impeding rule: Continue reading “Glendale passes ebike ordinance”

Proposed legislation would regulate bicycle speed

The spring 2026 legislative season (57th, 2nd Regular)  is apparently up-and-running already! Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Scottsdale) has proposed legislation that would limit a bicyclist’s speed in certain places.

SB1008 bicycles; mobility devices; speed limits

There was a veritable media blitz; here are a few: Continue reading “Proposed legislation would regulate bicycle speed”

SENTENCED: Driver on suspended license hits and kills cyclist in Phoenix

The driver on suspended license who hit and killed a cyclist in Phoenix while fleeing police after a domestic violence incident back in May 2024 has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to 2nd Degree Murder and Hit and Run charges.

see the full story here.

Bicyclist killed at Tucson HAWK crosswalk

11/16/2025 A bicyclist was killed when a driver ran a red light at an “activated” HAWK crossing at East Speedway Boulevard and North Richey Boulevard.

This is the only fatality I am aware of that has ever occurred at an activated HAWK crossing.

Police have already signaled there will be no serious charges (“The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene…” and “determined she was not impaired”. At the completion of TPDs investigation, it will probably be forwarded to the county attorney, who will decline charges, because that’s what they do when someone is killed by a not impaired driver. That will bring it back to the city attorney for consideration of misdemeanor (or civil charges, like just a traffic ticket). Continue reading “Bicyclist killed at Tucson HAWK crosswalk”

Phoenix cop indicted for causing wreck while going 50 mph over limit

New Times news article: Phoenix cop indicted for causing wreck while going 50 mph over limit

An un-named on duty Phoenix Police officer was indicted by grand jury on charges of aggravated assault and endangerment. The ag assault is theoretically a serious felony, but it would be unsurprising, if convicted, the sentence would be just probation [1]. Continue reading “Phoenix cop indicted for causing wreck while going 50 mph over limit”

Driver of Speeding White Tesla hits and kills bicyclist in Phoenix before fleeing the scene

{UPDATE: news now (published Wed Oct 22) says Osborne near Piestewa in a marked crosswalk. Which would be probably at the canal/trail crossing, which appears to have a HAWK signal]

Today is Tuesday. In an important update to  the hit and run killing Sunday afternoon (in addition to a motorcylist seriously injured in separate hit-and-run!) — how are we just now learning that the “white car” is a white Tesla. That’s a lot more specific don’t you think?

2025-10-19 ~ 3pm Osborne Rd near Piestawa Fwy bicyclist Will Castañeda killed in a marked crosswalk by a hit-and-run driver of a white Tesla. Osborne Rd runs underneath the freeway, there is no freeway access here. There are marked crosswalks both immediately east and west of the underpass, the Grand Canal Path is on the the west side and has a HAWK signal, the crosswalk on the east side is uncontrolled.

In any event BOLO white tesla w/ front damage. Here is the article published yesterday: Continue reading “Driver of Speeding White Tesla hits and kills bicyclist in Phoenix before fleeing the scene”

Doordash Dot and Polar Labs’ Personal Delivery Device

Polar Labs delivery robot testing in Tempe, June 2025

I’ve had a couple of inquiries about these gizmos — the official legal term is “personal delivery device” —  so I wanted to finally assemble updated (the current AZ law is from 2020) info, go here.

In brief: these are able to be fully autonomously guided (driven?), can use sidewalks and streets with certain restrictions: max speed being the most obvious.

My thought on safety is these would be a net positive in that they have very little chance of causing a serious injury to anybody, compared to a vehicle. We’ve seen first hand what gig working food deliver drivers can do. Continue reading “Doordash Dot and Polar Labs’ Personal Delivery Device”

Man sentenced for deadly 2023 cyclist crash in Goodyear

With two dead and a dozen or more injured in a single incident, this is probably the most famous MV-bike fatal crash in Arizona, if not the entire US, history; including a full NTSB investigation.

As the county attorney refused to bring felony charges… 1 year plus some license suspension and whatnot. Full story here.

A couple of “bicycle-adjacent” fatal hit-and-runs

A couple of bicycle-adjacent fatal hit and runs…One was a scooter, and the other was a mini-bike (presumably, a motor-driven cycle; i.e. motorcycle). In the first instance, the criminal pickup driver is still at large and needs to be located; and involved a (electric, i guess?) scooter. I am not clear how scooter riders get categorized for crash data purposes (and it may be different for state ASDM, vs federal FARS, see change to FARS in 2022).

The second involved a “mini bike”, which should not be categorized as bicyclist.

Both incidents will be listed on the AZ cyclist fatality spreadsheet while we await official statistics. Continue reading “A couple of “bicycle-adjacent” fatal hit-and-runs”

Glendale Pickup truck driver; crosswalk cyclist; serious injury

Aug 1, 2025 ~7:30

67th Ave and Hillcrest Blvd, Glendale.

Police told AZ family news the pickup driver was turning right when he struck a youth riding an bike in the crosswalk on his way to school. Continue reading “Glendale Pickup truck driver; crosswalk cyclist; serious injury”

Cities of Phoenix and Tempe re-start photo enforcement

The city administration last year produced this look at the impact of automated traffic enforcement devices when they were deployed in Phoenix between 2011-2019 – and what happened after the council shut down the program.
(File graphic; Ahwatukee Foothill News)

What goes around comes around? After ending all photo enforcement several years ago, the Cities of Phoenix will soon re-start and Tempe started a month ago.

 

And behind the scenes, the Republican controlled legislature has tried and failed year-after-year-after-year, for over a decade, to ban all photo enforcement anywhere in Arizona. Some years, the ban gets passed, and the governor (when Democrat) vetoes it. Most recently, Democrat gov Hobbs vetoed it (twice if i recall correctly). Other years, the bill dies, saving the embarrassment of having a Republican governor from vetoing it (e.g. SB1419 in 2021).  Continue reading “Cities of Phoenix and Tempe re-start photo enforcement”