The injured man’s family questions why the driver was not cited
By Jon Johnson
SOLOMON – A pedestrian using a rollator walker was seriously injured Thursday morning after being struck by a pickup truck backing out of a private driveway on Bowie Avenue in Solomon, and the man’s family is questioning why the driver was not given a criminal citation.
According to Graham County Sheriff’s Office reports, the incident occurred at about 11:58 a.m. on Nov. 13, near the intersection of a dirt-and-gravel driveway and S. Bowie Avenue. The pedestrian, an elderly Solomon man, was walking along the east side of Bowie Avenue when he was hit by a 2010 Toyota Tacoma driven by a resident.
Deputies found the pedestrian lying in the northbound lane with visible road rash, bleeding from the head, and difficulty breathing. He was transported by Lifeline Ambulance to Mount Graham Regional Medical Center (MGRMC) for treatment. Hospital updates provided to investigators by a family member days later advised that the man suffered four broken ribs on his right side, a compressed disc, and a fractured vertebra. He remained hospitalized as of Monday, Nov. 17, and was being evaluated for possible transfer to a Tucson facility.
According to the driver, his truck was parked under his carport, and when he walked to it, he did not see anyone in the street. He said he then began backing out while checking mirrors and both directions. He said he did not see or feel the impact of striking the pedestrian and only became aware someone had been hit when he looked in his mirror after pulling forward and saw the pedestrian on the ground.
A neighbor working across the street initially told deputies the truck backed out at a high rate of speed and knocked the pedestrian down. In a follow-up interview, the same neighbor revised his statement, saying the pedestrian may have been walking southbound and ended up partially under the truck, and that the driver exited the vehicle, spoke to the injured man, then pulled forward before stopping again. The driver denied knowing the pedestrian was under the truck and maintained he only discovered the collision after beginning to drive away.
The injured pedestrian, who has a history of strokes that affect his speech, later told a deputy that he had waved and greeted the driver while the driver was walking to his truck. He alleged the driver responded with profanity and then intentionally struck him. The pedestrian had difficulty answering some questions and repeatedly returned to the same statement during a hospital interview on Monday.
A second person who arrived on scene shortly after the collision confirmed she had seen the pedestrian walking southbound completely off the roadway moments earlier, but did not witness the impact.
Investigators noted tall, unmaintained grass and weeds along both sides of the driveway, extending close to the fog line, but found no visible tracks indicating the pedestrian had walked through the vegetation rather than on the pavement. The pedestrian had been walking with traffic rather than against it, which is contrary to Arizona traffic safety recommendations for pedestrians when no sidewalk is present.
No signs of impairment were observed in either the driver or the pedestrian. The Toyota Tacoma sustained only a small black scuff on the tailgate, and no citations were issued.
The Sheriff’s Office documented the incident as an injury accident. It closed the criminal investigation, advising the pedestrian’s family that any further recourse would be through insurance claims or civil court.
