Goodyear police seek additional info in deadly bicycle crash that left 2 dead, 19 hurt

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (3TV/CBS 5) — The Goodyear Police Dept. is once again asking for the public’s help for information on a deadly cyclist crash earlier this year.

Just before 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, Goodyear police and fire personnel responded to the Cotton Lane Bridge next to MC-85 where a pickup truck had collided with a large group of bicyclists. In all, 19 people were hurt and two others died, including 61-year-old Karen Malisa and 65-year-old David Kero.

Police later arrested the driver of the Ford F-250, 26-year-old Pedro Quintana-Lujan, on three counts of aggravated assault, 18 counts of endangerment, and two counts of causing serious injury or death by a moving violation. According to court documents, Quintana-Lujan told investigators that the steering wheel locked and drifted suddenly to the right. But investigators also believe that Lujan made no signs of stopping before eventually hitting a concrete barrier separating the road from the sidewalk.

Then just days after submitting charges to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, prosecutors sent the case back to Goodyear police for further investigation and Quintana-Lujan was released from jail. “The deaths of the two cyclists and injuries suffered by others that morning is an unimaginable tragedy,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said on Feb. 28. “The police need time to complete their investigation. It is critical before making any charging decision, and triggering legal time constraints, that a full investigation is completed and provided to prosecutors for review.”

In a news release sent to Arizona’s Family on Monday morning, Goodyear police are asking that anyone with details or other information related to the case to contact them at (623) 932-1220 or email gypd@goodyearaz.gov. “In an effort to complete our investigation, we are exhausting all possible leads,” police said in the release. “No detail is too small or insignificant.”

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