YPD: 14 crashes in single day
Car crashes on the rise early in the new year
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA/KECY) - Serious injury and even death due to car, motorcycle and recreational vehicle crashes are on the rise in Yuma.
On Sunday, a crash on 4th Avenue and 32nd Street involving 29-year-old, Jacob Stone, riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a 2015 GMC Sierra pickup truck left the motorcyclist dead.
Shortly after, a Can-Am UTV rolled onto its side on Otondo Drive and 26th Street. The 50-year-old woman riding it was partially ejected and had to be transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) and then taken to a Phoenix-area hospital in serious, but stable condition.
The Yuma Police Department says speed may have been a factor.
"In this time of year, we have averaged between three to maybe six accidents in a day. Last week, when we had that fatality accident last Tuesday, we had 14 accidents that day. That is a lot of accidents happening. It's inattention, it’s people speeding, people trying to shoot the gaps, doing all sorts of things like this. Again, slow down. Take your time. It’s not worth your life. It’s not worth somebody else’s life," says Yuma Police Department Sgt. Lori Franklin.
Just in this first month of the new year, Sgt. Franklin says there are already four deaths due to crashes alone. In 2021, there were 2,724 crashes including 13 deaths on Yuma roadways.
