Pickup Truck Driver Crashes Into Group of Bicyclists, Killing 2 and Injuring 11

A man driving a pickup truck crashed into a large group of cyclists on a bridge in Goodyear, Arizona, over the weekend, killing two and sending 11 more to the hospital.

Police arrested Pedro Quintana-Lujan, 26, who remained on the scene following the Saturday strike. Quintana-Lujan was charged with “…two counts of manslaughter, three counts of aggravated assault, 18 counts of endangerment and two counts of causing serious injury or death by a moving violation,” according to NPR:

Police said Quintana-Lujan drove his pick-up truck into a group of cyclists while crossing the Cotton Lane Bridge around 8 a.m. in Goodyear, a community of about 100,000 residents about five miles west of Phoenix.

One woman died at the scene and a second rider later at the hospital, police said.

Police also said that one of the deceased victims is a local resident, and the other is from out of state, but a spokesperson for the department couldn’t clarify to NPR which victim was which.

An additional 11 cyclists were hospitalized locally. One was in life-threatening condition as of Sunday afternoon, according to local authorities.

At least this guy was arrested on the spot. We’ve seen cops give drivers significant leeway after striking bicycle riders in the past. A 16-year-old pickup driver struck six cyclists in 2021 while attempting to roll coal over the group. He wasn’t immediately arrested, despite his careless and harassing actions seriously injuring several people. A driver in April of last year wasn’t charged for killing a teen on her bicycle despite driving while extremely intoxicated on four different substances, because the police thought the teen was responsible for her own death due to nonexistent bicyclist laws. And in July, a Jeep driver was only charged with a misdemeanor after nearly slamming into a bike rider, twice.

A Jersey City councilwoman with an extensive bad driving record didn’t even tap her brakes after hitting a cyclist not only kept her job, but was only charged with a misdemeanor. Some drivers in the Bay area are reportedly targeting cyclists for “doorings,” or opening car doors in order to cause bike riders to slam into them and crash.

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It doesn’t help that American vehicles are becoming bigger, heavier and more deadly towards anyone not confined in their fiberglass and steel cages. While crashes fatalities are expected to be slightly down for 2022, cyclist and pedestrian deaths are up eight percent and five percent respectively.

2 dead, 11 injured after truck hits group of bicyclists in Goodyear

We will update this story when we know more.