A cyclist has died following a crash with an on-duty Tucson Police Department officer Saturday night.
The crash occurred at about 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1 on First Avenue near Navajo Road according to a TPD post on Facebook.
According to TPD, officer Alon Hackett was driving an unmarked car to perform surveillance. He was driving north on First Avenue when the crash occurred.
TPD’s release said the cyclist, Francisco Galvez, 49 was riding east across First Avenue near Navajo Road when he was struck by Hackett. The release indicates Hackett was driving in the lane closest to the curb and struck Galvez with the right front of his vehicle.
According to the details provided, Galvez must have nearly crossed First Avenue before being struck.
Galvez was taken to University of Arizona Medical Center where he died “several hours” after the crash.
TPD’s report indicates Galvez’s bike was equipped with front and rear lights and that he was not wearing a helmet.
The police department is investigating the crash.
“Detectives from the Traffic Unit and the Office of Internal Affairs responded to conduct an investigation into the collision, which is ongoing. As is standard in this type of incident, a Board of Inquiry was convened to review the circumstances.”
Bicycle Tucson will obtain the report when it is complete.
The TPD Facebook disclosure states the eastbound cyclist was struck by the “right front corner” of the unmarked northbound police vehicle in the curb lane (whatever that is)…hmm…
It will be interesting to learn how this one turns out for the motorist and his department.
Another reason to hate pigs!
Nothing will happen. As usual. You can kill someone and get away with it as long as they’re on a bike and you are in a car. Tucson has proven that over and over.
Curb lane refers to right hand lane, also for those criticizing the officer, he had right of way with no stop sign or light there, navajo is a small residential street, so traffic coming in either direction would have to stop and yield to traffic on 1st ave.
If people want to have a serious conversation about cyclists being protected on the roads then we must act responsible. Blaming the cop or calling him a pig off the bat does not help, it just shows a lack of sensibility.
@guest So Galvez was killed because he failed to yield? Let the board of inquiry know. It will save time.
I am dubious that TPD will find one of its own culpable in this incident. It is possible, but not probable. Law enforcement should be held to the same standards of responsible driving that the rest of us are, but they are not.
Last July, an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy hit and killed a cyclist in Calabasas, CA. It was determined that the deputy was typing on his patrol car computer when he plowed into entertainment lawyer Milton Olin Jr. The DA declined to file charges because the state law that bans drivers from using wireless devices exempts police officers and other emergency workers. I would not be surprised to find that Arizona law has similar exemptions.
sluggh I never said that in my post. What I did was describe the area. The reason I wrote what I did is because of the posts below immediately blaming the officer and calling him names.
Second your sarcasm proves my point in the second paragraph, instead of generating discussion about issues that cyclists face on the road in a constructive fashion, you immediately post a snide comment.
Finally what happens if the investigation comes back that there was nothing the officer could do and he had right of way, will you cry cover up no matter what or will you join the discussion in a reasonable fashion. The only way real problems and issues in society get fixed is via sensible discussions developing sensible plans. Posting rants, derogatory names, or blame without facts does nothing but incite the issue and for people on opposing sides to go on the defensive and little gets resolved. I know what part of the issue I want to be on, do most people?
@guest You’ve declared the officer had the right of way. Not sure what kind of “sensible discussion” is supposed to follow.
sluggh A discussion in this case could be simple to start with all the stakeholders in the community to grow awareness for safety of cyclists. We have a bicycle and pedestrian coordinator in the city, that is a great place to start. So let me begin.
First allow the investigation to play out as it should, as I stated based on information I know from living in the area, first blush tells me the officer had the right of way. Someone lost their life and this needs to be taken seriously in an investigation, thoroughly and objectively. Look at the posts below and above mine though, they all automatically blame the officer, at no point does anyone take an objective opinion and look at what simple facts are immediately available to them to start their thought process.
Second get some real advocates out their who are willing to work with the city of Tucson, TPD, and others out there to draw attention to cyclists on the street at the same time educating cyclists about rules of the road. Quite frankly cyclists should be so acutely aware of this because our failure to follow the rules is much more catastrophic than someone in a car. I am not blaming the cyclists at this point, but the education HAS to go both ways to grow awareness.
Next has to be what can the city and bicycling community do to work together on future projects to make this better. I think parts of our community have some great ideas from expanding the loop, to light the night, to acyclovir, these are great times to bring people together to make is safer for everyone.
Being sarcastic to anyone pointing out things or having a discussion does nothing to further what should be the second goal after a tragedy strikes (first is investigate and accountability) and that is what can we do to avoid this in the future.
With accountability I believe a good example of is the story of the CA sheriff who hit the cyclist while working on his patrol car computer. That officer should have been held to the same standard as a motorist and the department should update policies that restrict officers from working on their computers while driving unless an emergency/life threatening situation they are responding to. Even then the officers should use their radios as to keep their eyes on the road.
@guest One less “stakeholder” today and you’re talking about The Loop. May I ask who you think is investigating?
sluggh Since you want to pick and choose what someone responds with I am going to ask some questions to see if you can answer them.
First you are constantly criticizing anything I say, who do you think is at fault right now?
Second yes I mentioned the loop as a passing reference to growing awareness and safety for bicyclist to enjoy our city, what do you mean by your comment? (so you know I am writing this since you can simply pick and choose what you want to respond to, so what problem do you have with my mention of it, I did call this a tragedy which it is.)
Next I know who is investigating this, it is in the article and press release from TPD. Do you think there is automatic bias in there?
What do you think should happen next during and after the investigation?
You seem so enlightened to attack anything I post, yet have not offered anything constructive to the conversation. Now is your chance.