Our Wasted Years
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The original story
Here is they found out a 4th person died
About the driver
This happening pretty close to where I live is pretty scary, but I guess it's a good thing I don't drive. I still can't believe the moron didn't see them.
ARTICLEAt least three people died after a dump truck slammed into a group of motorcycles at 27th Drive and Carefree Highway in north Phoenix.
Eight motorcycles carrying at least nine people were stopped at a stop light when the large truck apparently hit them from behind, Phoenix police spokesman Luis Samudio said. Three bodies were pinned under the truck.
Tania Krukoff, an employee at a nearby Walgreen's, said she was returning from a nearby gas station when she came upon the accident and talked to the driver of the truck.
"He was in shock," Krukoff said. "He (said) he wasn't paying attention, just shuffling with his paperwork."
Six people more were taken to local hospitals, one of them being a Phoenix fire captain, Samudio said.
The firefighter, Ernie Lizarraga, is a 22-year veteran of the department, officials said. He was taken into surgery.
Lizarraga is a member of a motorcycle club called Phoenix-M-C-Kruzers. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the riders hurt Thursday were with the club; however, an invitation for Thursday's ride posted by Lizarraga on the Web site, meetup.com, told riders they would go to Carefree "and off to Bartlett Lake."
"I just WANNA RIDE," he told members of the Web group.
After the accident the Blue Sky Sanitation truck was smoking, and popping could be heard before it burst into flames. Witnesses saved at least two people who were near the truck when it caught fire by pulling them to safety. Motorcycles were said to be spread out 20 to 30 yards behind the truck.
A medical helicopter landed at least twice to transfer victims to the hospital.
After the truck hit the motorcycles, the truck burst into flames and hit a sports-utility vehicle, a pickup and a sedan. No one from any of those vehicles was injured, Daisy Mountain Fire Department spokesman Phil Dyer said.
The driver of the truck was not injured. Officials said there were no initial signs of impairment. The Carefree Highway was expected to be closed for several hours.
Lynn McDowell, also a Walgreen's employee, ran out with other employees to help.
"I grabbed all the water I could and took blankets because there were bodies everywhere," McDowell said. "It was horrible."
The truck driver, she said, "got out of the truck and tried to help the people under the truck.''
"The flames were so high you couldn't get close," she reported. She and others took fire extinguishers from Walgreen's to try to extinguish the flames.
Jarrod Cook owns Ketzal Mexican Grill near the scene. He said he has closed his shop for the day because of the accident.
All six that was transported are in critical condition. At least 50 firefighters and two ladder crews responded to the scene.
Transportation officials said the road would reopen by 7 a.m. Friday.
ARTICLEA Valley woman died Friday from injuries suffered a day earlier when a dump truck slammed into a group of motorcyclists, killing three people at the scene and injuring five others.
Phoenix police said Dayle Veronica Downs-Totonchi, 47, died Friday at a hospital.
Eight motorcycles carrying nine people were stopped at a traffic light at Carefree Highway and 27th Drive Thursday when the large sanitation truck driving eastbound failed to control its speed, striking the rear of the motorcycles and four other vehicles, police said.
Three motorcyclists were killed at the scene: Clyde R. Nachand, 67, Stephen Punch, 52. Both men were riding Harley Davidson motorcycles. Daniel L. Butler, 35, also died. He was on a Honda motorcycle, police said.
A Phoenix fire captain remained in critical condition Friday. Three of the remaining victims were in serious condition. One motorcycle rider was treated and released, according to police. The sixth victim is a motorcycle rider that did not receive any injuries, said Luis Samudio, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.
The driver of the truck, Michael J. Jakscht, 46, had minor injuries. Police believe he was not impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. Detectives are still determining what charges or citations may be filed, Samudio said.
The fire captain, Ernie Lizarraga, is a 22-year veteran of the department. He had surgery Thursday at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix and remains in critical condition.
Lizarraga, who was off-duty at the time of the accident, is a member of a motorcycle club called Phoenix-M-C-Kruzers. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the riders hurt Thursday were with the club; however, an invitation for Thursday's ride posted by Lizarraga on the Web site, meetup.com, told riders they would go to Carefree "and off to Bartlett Lake."
"I just WANNA RIDE," he told members of the Web group.
Dayle Totonchi, another victim, was in serious condition Friday at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix, according to the hospital and friends.
Totonchi, an assistant organizer the Phoenix-M-C-Kruzers group, had planned a ride at 10 a.m. Thursday starting at Cave Creek Road and Union Hills Drive and ending at Bartlett Lake, according to meetup.com.
"We ride. We honor the written & unwritten codes of the road & we hold in our heart the reason for riding," Totonchi said on her Web page for the site.
The crash, which occurred around 1 p.m., left a snarl of wreckage at the intersection. Motorcycles were wedged underneath the front of the truck while scattered bike parts and an upright pair of boots stood eerily in the roadway.
Maritza Lomba, 23, who works at a nearby Peter Piper Pizza, said, "We didn't see it happen. We were sitting in Peter Piper Pizza, we see this puff of black smoke. People started trickling out to see and the fireman, he was spraying at the front of the truck."
"After it happened, everyone started running to the truck," Lomba said. "It was pandemonium."
Tania Krukoff, an employee at the Walgreens at 27th Drive and Carefree Highway, said she was on break and returning from a nearby gas station when she came upon the accident scene.
"There were no police here," Krukoff said. "There were bodies everywhere."
According to Krukoff, "There was a fire right after the accident. Three of the motorcyclists' bodies were underneath the truck and on fire."
Krukoff talked to the truck's driver, and she said "he was in shock."
"I didn't smell no alcohol," she said. "He told me he wasn't paying attention, just shuffling with his paperwork."
ARTICLEThe driver of a dump truck that struck and killed members of a motorcycle group in north Phoenix was cited for failing to control his speed less than two weeks ago, court records show.
Michael J. Jakscht, 46, was driving the dump truck for Blue Sky Sanitation east on Carefree Highway Thursday when he failed to control his speed, striking the rear of eight motorcycles and four other vehicles, police said. The motorcycles, carrying nine people, were stopped at a traffic light at Carefree Highway and 27th Drive.
Three motorcyclists were killed at the scene: Clyde R. Nachand, 67; Stephen Punch, 52; and Daniel L. Butler, 35. A fourth victim, 47-year-old Dayle Veronica Downs-Totonchi, died at a hospital Friday. Phoenix fire Capt. Ernie Lizarraga, 52, remained in critical condition, police said.
Three other victims were in serious condition. A ninth victim is a motorcycle rider who did not sustain serious injuries, said Officer Luis Samudio, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.
Jakscht doesn't have a criminal record, according to a check of Arizona court records, but a complaint was filed against him on March 15 in Scottsdale City Court for driving with a speed greater than reasonable and prudent, court records show. The complaint said Jakscht was traveling 45 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone but failed to control his speed to avoid an accident.
Court records show Jakscht had other driving violations in recent years.
In 2005, Jakscht pleaded guilty in Scottsdale City Court to operating a vehicle with excess weight and was fined $113. He pleaded responsible to not having current registration, and the fine was suspended. The records do not indicate what type of vehicle he was driving. A year later, Jakscht pleaded guilty in Phoenix City Court to a citation for parts or accessories in unsafe or improper condition. A charge of no proof of annual inspection was dismissed.
In 2009, Jakscht was charged in Scottsdale City Court for failure to inspect equipment and a vehicle and failure to have a fire extinguisher in the vehicle, records show. The charges were dismissed by the city attorney. The records don't specify what type of vehicle was involved or why the case was dismissed.
Jakscht was not believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of Thursday's crash. Detectives are still determining whether charges or citations will be filed, Samudio said.
As police continued investigating the crash, friends and family remembered the dead and injured.
Mike Mazor, a motorcyclist who rode with some of the victims, choked back tears in a phone interview with The Arizona Republic on Friday. He described Totonchi as "one of the prettiest, sweetest, kindest women you could imagine."
Lizarraga, a 22-year veteran of the Fire Department, is "full of enjoyment," he said.
A crowd of nearly 100 gathered near the crash site Friday night for a candlelight vigil. Some spoke remembrances of loved ones; most were there to honor people they'd never even met.
Maria Margiauc of Cave Creek didn't know the crash victims but wanted to show support for the biker community.
"What happened here was ridiculous, it was stupid," she said. "I don't know if you're familiar with the bikers, but they're the nicest people. They do a lot of charity things. They're a good community; they care very much."
Many of the victims were members of different motorcycle groups. A solidarity ride is planned today in honor of the victims. Bikers are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. at a QuickTrip store in Mesa, near U.S. 60 and Mesa Drive, and ride to the Roadrunner Restaurant in New River.
John Fox, a friend of Totonchi, said a formal ride would be organized later.
Friends of Totonchi gathered at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, where Totonchi was on life support until she died Friday.
"We were here all night last night," said Tom Ryan, a close friend of Totonchi and her husband.
Nachand, a retired U.S. naval commander, was known to take his Harley Davidson out up to five times a week, said Erin O'Connor, Nachand's Peoria neighbor and friend.
"Clyde died doing something he absolutely loved," O'Connor said.
