Ten crash fatalities in Mesa, AZ Jan, 2005
Dick Boyd
article raise public awareness of the severity of the problem?
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/0205fatals05Z11.html
Mesa, AZ. Nine crashes, ten fatalities in one month. Five possibly six
alcohol related. At least one involved criminal flight. Several single
car crashes. Two motorcyclists. One pedestrian.
10 traffic deaths in Jan. a city record
In those 9 incidents, more than 50% tied to alcohol consumption
Senta Scarborough
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
Ten people died in traffic crashes in Mesa last month, the highest on
record. More than half the crashes involved alcohol, police said.
The victims, all males, included a teenager, a pedestrian and two
motorcyclists who lost their lives in nine crashes in January.
The 10 deaths was the highest number recorded since March 1998, with
seven. Police have investigated one fatal crash this month.
"It is alarming to have this number of deaths, but it shows the
randomness of fatalities," Mesa police traffic Lt. Ben Kulina said. "In
some of these cases if they would have been following the rules of the
road, they would have possibly survived."
Five of the nine fatal crashes were alcohol-related, and police are
waiting for lab results that might push that to six.
In one crash, a suspected drunken driver lost control of his car, hit a
parked truck, a traffic control box and a utility box before spinning
out of control and ejecting and killing two passengers. Beer cans also
flew from the car, smashing into a police car in the Jan. 21 crash.
Eberado Mendez-Trejo faces manslaughter charges in a Jan. 29 crash when
he lost control while going 62 mph in a 30 mph zone. The car rolled
four times, ejecting two passengers, who died.
The family of Francisco Baltazar-Martin, 42, said they tried to keep
him from driving away from his home Jan. 1 but failed. Baltazar-Martin,
who was intoxicated at the time of the crash according to police, was
driving his truck when it struck a utility pole.
In the first fatal crash of the year, Bobby Jim died after the driver
of the truck he was in ran a red light and was struck by another
vehicle. Jim, 21, was ejected. Both drivers fled on foot, and the
driver of the second vehicle removed the plate from his vehicle as well
as registration and insurance information. Police are still looking for
him.
Kulina said the behavior of those involved in the fatal crashes is a
good example of the contributing factors that commonly lead to serious
or fatal crashes.
"We are out there doing the things we should be, but the roadways are
dangerous and people need to be really careful when they are out
there," Kulina said. "People still have to be responsible drivers."
This is the second year in a row that traffic fatalities have been much
higher during January than other months.
In January 2004, six fatalities in five crashes got the attention of
police, concerned the high number might mean a rise in fatal crashes
and deaths for the year.
The opposite occurred, with the number of motorists who died in Mesa
last year dropping 19 percent in 2004 compared with 2003.
Twenty-five drivers or passengers died last year, six fewer than in
2003.
Kulina said the traffic unit uses a mix of driver education,
enforcement, high visibility patrols, photo safety, and other programs
to keep roadways safe and reduce injury and fatal crashes.
Last month, Kulina kicked off a new enforcement campaign, the Unsafe
Driver Program, to hunt down 1,600 drivers with outstanding misdemeanor
traffic warrants. The program, fueled by a $121,000 state grant, will
pay for overtime for officers to catch fugitives wanted for drunken
driving, revoked and suspended licenses and underage consumption and
possession offenses. The goal is to keep roadways safe and reduce
injuries and deaths.
Last year, Mesa police also increased public awareness education
through a series of traffic-related public safety announcements aired
on Mesa's public television station, Channel 11. The programs offer
driving safety information on issues like seatbelt safety, pedestrian
safety and bike riding.
The traffic department's successful Collision Reduction Program, which
targets intersections with the worst crash totals in the previous
month, has helped reduce crashes.
Mesa road deaths
Jan 1: Bobby Jim, 21, of Chandler, a passenger, died around 2:10 a.m.
when was ejected from a car that ran a red light and struck another
vehicle at Extension Road and Southern Avenue.
Jan 1: Francisco Baltazar-Martin, 42, of Mesa, died after crashing his
car into a telephone pole in the 700 block of East University Drive
about 7:20 p.m.
Jan. 15: Eric Bain, 47, of Mesa, was killed while riding his motorcycle
northbound near Power and McDowell roads and was struck by another
vehicle around 10 p.m.
Jan. 21: Michael Andrew Howard Jr., 23, of Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community, died in a three-car collision in the 1600 block of
North Longmore at 1:50 a.m.
Jan. 24: Donald J. Petersen, 83, of Mesa, died in a two-car collision
in the 400 block of North Val Vista Drive at 1:22 p.m..
Jan. 26: John David Chase, 46, of Mesa, was killed while trying to
cross outside of the crosswalk around 6:42 p.m. in the 50 block of West
McKellips Road.
Jan. 28: Joseph Dean, 17, of Mesa, died while riding a motorcycle and
failing to stop, hitting a bus in the 600 block of West University
Drive around 8 p.m.
Jan. 29: Omar Mendez-Trejo, 25, of Phoenix, and Sergio Villa-Rodriguez,
25, of Mesa, both passengers, died when the driver lost control of the
car and it rolled several times in the 2400 block of East Lehi Road
about 3 a.m.
Jan. 29: Howard Leroy Goulden, 64, of Mesa, died in a single-car crash
in the 11000 block of East Baseline Road around 8 p.m.
Would red light camera money be better spent on a program of you can't
hide so don't run? How about belt up for safety? Designated driver?
Elder driver screening?
Have you ever seen an article like this in your local paper or over
local TV?