Driver who crashed into group of bicyclists in Arizona, killing 2, gets a year in jail

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PHOENIX (AP) — A driver who crashed into a group of bicyclists in suburban Phoenix, killing two of them and injuring several others, was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.

Pedro Quintana-Lujan pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by moving vehicle and 10 counts of causing serious injury by moving vehicle — all misdemeanors — stemming from the Feb. 25, 2023, crash. His attorney, Jason Karpel, did not respond to a request for comment, and city prosecutors declined to comment.

Quintana-Lujan was driving a pickup hauling a trailer on a busy highway when the vehicle crashed into a group of bicyclists on the Cotton Lane Bridge in Goodyear about 19 miles (30 kilometers) west of Phoenix. Killed in the crash were Karen Malisa, 61, of Goodyear, Arizona; and David Kero, 65, who was visiting from Michigan.

Nearly everyone in the 20-person cycling group was injured.

Quintan-Lujan remained at the scene, and prosecutors found no indication he had been speeding or was under the influence of alcohol. He told investigators he had smoked marijuana the night before, and tests revealed he had a small amount of THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, in his system.

According to a charging document released by police, Quintana-Lujan told officers he was driving in the left of two northbound lanes when his steering locked and he drifted into the vacant right lane, then into the adjacent bike lane where he heard “a sound similar to metal.”

A reconstruction of the collision determined that when Quintana-Lujan entered the bike lane, he also struck the concrete barrier that separates the roadway from a sidewalk, leaving black tire marks halfway up the wall and striking several cyclists.

Quintana-Lujan's jail sentence will be followed by three years of probation. His driver's license also will be suspended for 180 days, and he was ordered to complete 60 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine.