A 53-year-old man remains in extremely critical condition after he ran into a North Phoenix street while apparently being chased and was struck by a driver who fled the scene before returning minutes later, police say. The collision happened Saturday night near 28th Drive and Peoria Avenue, an intersection with a documented history of severe crashes.
According to KTAR News 92.3 FM, the Phoenix Police Department received reports of a pedestrian collision at the intersection, and officers and fire crews arrived to find the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries. The man had reportedly been involved in an argument with an adult woman before the crash, and witnesses were reportedly chasing him when he ran into the roadway, where a vehicle struck him. He was taken to a local hospital in extremely critical condition.
The driver initially fled the scene, per the same report, but returned a few minutes later, police said. Officers who made contact with the driver observed signs of impairment, though no charges have been announced as authorities work to determine what, if any, charges will follow a full collision reconstruction and case review.
What Arizona Law Says About Fleeing a Crash
Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-661, leaving the scene of an accident involving serious physical injury is a Class 4 felony carrying up to 3.75 years in prison, according to AZ Defenders. If a fleeing driver is found to have caused a fatal or serious crash, the charge escalates to a Class 2 felony carrying up to 12.5 years. Notably, returning to a scene minutes later does not automatically clear a driver of hit-and-run liability if they failed to stop immediately, though it may factor into sentencing.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-1381 separately makes it illegal to drive while impaired to “the slightest degree,” with a standard first-offense DUI carrying mandatory jail time and license restrictions, per Feldman Royle Ahl. Felony aggravated DUI can apply if aggravating factors, such as driving on a suspended license, are present. Prosecutors commonly file both DUI and felony hit-and-run charges concurrently when an impaired driver flees an accident scene, though it remains unclear which, if any, of these charges will apply here pending the investigation's outcome.
Formal charging decisions in fatal and serious Phoenix crashes typically wait on physical evidence mapping, vehicle event data recorder extraction, toxicology analysis, and a full collision reconstruction before the case is submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. That process explains why Phoenix police have not yet announced charges even as they confirmed officers saw signs of impairment in the driver.
A Dangerous Stretch Of Roadway
This is not the first serious crash at this North Phoenix intersection. In April 2025, a motorcyclist was killed at Peoria Avenue and 28th Drive when a Valley Metro bus pulled in front of him while turning, according to the Arizona Republic. And in April 2024, a child pedestrian was struck by a patrol vehicle near the same intersection after a fleeing reckless driver caused a multi-vehicle crash that sent occupants running into the roadway, per Alpha Accident Lawyers. The stretch of 28th Drive between Peoria Avenue and Cactus Road carries a posted 35 mph speed limit, according to City of Phoenix transportation subcommittee records.
The crash also lands within a broader statewide pattern. Arizona recorded 263 pedestrian deaths in 2024, giving it a pedestrian fatality rate of 3.6 per 100,000 residents — the second-highest in the nation behind New Mexico, according to KJZZ. Maricopa County alone accounted for 60% of the state's pedestrian fatalities in 2024, per Arizona Department of Transportation data cited by AZ Law Now. Saturday's collision occurred at night, and statewide research shows 76% of pedestrian fatalities in 2024 happened in dark conditions, according to Ramos Law.
Phoenix has been trying to curb this trend. The city council approved its Vision Zero Road Safety Action Plan in 2022, committing $10 million annually toward eliminating traffic deaths by 2050 after the city recorded 278 traffic deaths in 2024. The plan targets high-injury corridors for street redesigns and enforcement, though it remains to be seen whether the Peoria Avenue and 28th Drive corridor will see any changes following this latest incident.
Investigators have not said whether the witnesses who were reportedly chasing the man bear any legal responsibility for pushing him into the roadway, and that question, along with the driver's exact level of impairment, is expected to hinge on the completed collision reconstruction. The incident remains under investigation, and Phoenix police have not released additional details about the driver's identity or the outcome of the argument that preceded the chase.
