A 62-year-old man died Monday after his electric bicycle slammed into the back of a parked tractor-trailer on Mountain View Road in north Phoenix, according to authorities. Randy Cook was riding westbound when he collided with the rear of the stationary rig near 19th Avenue and Mountain View Road, between Dunlap and Peoria avenues, and first responders later pronounced him dead at a hospital.
The truck driver called police after feeling the impact while sitting inside the cab, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM. Detectives from the Phoenix Police Department's Vehicular Crimes Unit responded to lead the investigation into the crash, which happened around 3:30 p.m. Monday, and confirmed Cook's westbound travel along Mountain View Road before the collision, according to the Daily Independent. Investigators have not determined whether impairment played a role in the crash, the newspaper reported.
As of Wednesday, Phoenix police investigators were still working to determine what caused the fatal collision. No further details about the exact mechanics of the crash — including lighting conditions at the time or the condition of Cook's e-bike — have been released.
A Corridor Already Flagged for Danger
The stretch of 19th Avenue near Mountain View Road sits within Phoenix's High Injury Network, a set of arterial corridors identified under the city's Vision Zero safety plan as accounting for a disproportionate share of severe and fatal crashes. The nearby intersection of 19th Avenue and Peoria Avenue ranks among the highest crash-risk intersections in Maricopa County, according to Impact Legal.
The area has also become a busier transit hub since Valley Metro's Northwest Extension Phase II light rail line opened in January 2024, elevating tracks across I-17 at Mountain View Road as part of a $1.3 billion project that added three stations and redirected regional bus and vehicle connections near 19th Avenue, per Valley Metro. In response to persistent crash risks along the corridor, Phoenix reactivated its Photo Safety Program in February, placing speed-monitoring cameras along high-crash stretches of 19th Avenue near Thunderbird and Bell roads as part of a $10 million annual Vision Zero initiative funded unanimously by the Phoenix City Council, according to the City of Phoenix.
Rules of the Road for E-Bike Riders
Phoenix municipal code strictly limits where e-bikes can legally operate. Under Phoenix City Code Sections 36-500 through 36-514, e-bike operators must be at least 16 years old, cannot ride on city sidewalks, and must obey standard motor vehicle traffic regulations and signals, the city's guidelines state.
State law, meanwhile, grants e-bikes broad access to Arizona roadways. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28 classifies e-bikes with motors under 750 watts into three tiers and exempts riders from needing a driver's license, vehicle registration, or insurance, though riders under 18 must wear helmets, according to the City of Kingman Police Department. Vehicles with motors exceeding 750 watts or top speeds over 30 mph fall under a different legal category as motor-driven cycles. Separately, Arizona Revised Statutes Section 28-817 requires any bicycle or e-bike operated at night or in low-visibility conditions to carry a front headlight visible from 500 feet and a rear red reflector visible from 50 to 300 feet, per the Arizona State Legislature.
Part of a Rising Toll Across the Valley
Cook's death follows a string of fatal e-bike crashes across the Phoenix metro area in 2026. Less than three weeks earlier, a 13-year-old boy died after his e-bike collided with a vehicle near Waddell and Glendale in unincorporated Maricopa County, marking the second severe juvenile e-bike crash the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigated within a single week that August, as Hoodline previously reported. In May, Phoenix police investigated a separate fatal pre-dawn e-bike collision on 24th Street near Sky Harbor International Airport, where a rider was struck and killed by an SUV, shutting down the street for hours.
The pattern reflects a broader national trend. A U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report released in April recorded 533 micromobility fatalities nationwide from 2017 through 2024, with annual deaths climbing from just 5 in 2017 to 135 in 2024, and motor vehicle collisions identified as the primary hazard. Emergency room visits involving e-bikes also surged significantly over the same period, according to the commission's findings.
