Witnesses say bicyclist killed was hit by 3 different cars in west Phoenix

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Phoenix police are investigating the death of a bicyclist near the intersection of 39th Avenue and Camelback Road. They said he was lying in the road when he was hit by a car. However, a witness reached out to Arizona’s Family, saying the man was only lying in the street because he’d been hit by another car first.

It happened Wednesday night just before 10 p.m. Police haven’t identified the bicyclist, only saying that he’s in his 60′s.

“I heard a really loud bang,” Chassidy Slone said. She told Arizona’s Family when she looked out of her window, which is right on Camelback Road, she had a front-row seat for what happened next.

“He was moving, and then car after car kept hitting him,” she said. “I know that no one could see or hear me, but I was screaming for people to just stop. I was yelling to my husband that’s a human in the road,” she continued. Slone said her husband rushed downstairs to help and quickly realized he’d died.

Police said at least one driver remained on scene but couldn’t confirm Slone’s account. “That’s something we’re investigating and our detectives are aware of that as a possibility,” Sgt. Brian Bower with Phoenix Police said.

Slone said it’s part of a bigger problem. “They race up and down this road all night long, I hear crashes all the time and I think this should be a wake up call for people,” she said.

“I’m about the same age, so I try to be careful. That’s all you can do,” Joe Black, a bicyclist, said.

“It’s kind of a jam right here, and the cars drive crazy,” Megan Augustus, a neighbor, said.

Arizona’s Family reached out to the city about the area. According to their online data, the stretch of Camelback has been designated as a High Injury Network – meaning high numbers of people have been killed or severely injured. They found between 2016 and 2020, six serious crashes happened in the area.

Slone had a message for the drivers who hit this bicyclist. “Do the right thing…it could be your dad, your grandpa, your brother,” she said.

Police are investigating the deadly crash. Anyone with information is asked to give them a call.

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