One person is in critical condition following a crash involving a motorcycle on Tucson's east side Thursday, with police warning that road closures near the scene could last for hours. Officers converged on the area of Kolb and Escalante roads late Thursday morning as investigators worked to piece together what happened.
Tucson police officers responded to the scene near Kolb and Escalante roads around 11:40 a.m. on October 22, according to KVOA, which reported that one person was left in critical condition. A separate report from KOLD placed the time of the crash at around 11:45 a.m., describing it as a serious injury crash involving a motorcycle near the same intersection.
The Tucson Police Department said road closures and restrictions in the area would remain in place for an extended period of time, per the station's report. Drivers were asked to avoid the area entirely, while KVOA noted officers were advising motorists to find alternate routes while the investigation continued. Details beyond the crash location, timing and the victim's critical condition remained limited at the time of publication.
A Troubled Intersection on Tucson's East Side
Thursday's crash adds to a string of serious collisions that have struck the Kolb and Escalante intersection in recent years. In May, a man died in a three-vehicle crash near the same intersection, according to KOLD's earlier coverage of that incident. Police identified the deceased driver as 58-year-old Samuel D. Jackson and said he was speeding on Kolb Road without a seatbelt when he struck the back of another vehicle, lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a third vehicle. The other two drivers involved were not impaired and suffered only minor injuries, per the same account.
The intersection's history of serious wrecks stretches back further. In June 2019, the intersection of South Kolb Road and East Escalante Road was completely shut down after a multi-vehicle collision involving serious injuries, according to Tucson.com. Traffic was diverted at the time, with drivers asked to use alternate routes while crews cleared the scene.
Motorcycle Crashes Have Proven Especially Dangerous Nearby
Motorcycle-involved wrecks elsewhere in Tucson have carried high stakes as well. In one earlier case reported by KVOA, a motorcycle driver identified as 34-year-old Carlos Jason Lopez died after a crash at West Saint Mary's Road and North Freeway; police said the driver of the other vehicle, 33-year-old Daniela Marquez-Batista, failed to yield while making a left turn, which investigators determined was the major contributing factor. Marquez-Batista was arrested for causing death by moving violation and then cited and released, the outlet reported, and the intersection was closed for hours while detectives investigated.
Not every motorcycle crash in the area has ended in tragedy. Tucson.com previously reported that southbound Kolb Road at South Langley Avenue reopened after a truck struck a motorcyclist, with that rider transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Thursday's crash near Kolb and Escalante has not yet had a cause or contributing factor released by police, and the identity of the person in critical condition has not been made public.
Drivers heading through Tucson's east side should expect continued disruptions near the intersection as the investigation unfolds. No additional details on the length of the closures or the investigation's progress were available at the time of publication.
