A person was left in critical condition early Friday after being struck by two separate vehicles near 35th Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix, and both drivers took off before police arrived. The victim was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries as investigators worked to piece together what happened and track down the vehicles involved.
Phoenix police and fire crews responded to the area after reports of a crash involving two cars and a person, according to 12News. When officers arrived, they determined the person had actually been struck by both vehicles, not just one. Investigators have described the vehicles as a dark-colored sedan and a dark-colored SUV, but neither driver stopped, and both were gone by the time police reached the scene.
Officers asked the public to avoid the area near 35th Avenue and Indian School Road while the investigation unfolded, and the station's report notes that the case remains active as detectives work to identify the two vehicles. No suspect names, descriptions or additional details about the drivers have been released.
A Familiar, Dangerous Stretch of Road
This isn't the first time that exact intersection has seen a pedestrian struck and left in critical condition by a driver who didn't stay. Back on January 12, 2022, a man was critically injured after he was hit while crossing the street near the same intersection, and police said at the time that the vehicle involved did not stop after striking him, according to abc15.com. Whether this week's crash is connected in any way to that earlier incident is not something investigators have addressed.
Part Of A Broader Pattern Across The City
Friday's crash follows a string of similar incidents across Phoenix in recent months. Just weeks earlier, a hit-and-run near 23rd and Peoria avenues sent a man and a woman to the hospital after they were struck while in the roadway, and police said at the time they saw no indication the string of pedestrian crashes that week were connected to one another, as reported by azfamily.com. That same stretch of days also saw a person critically injured in a crosswalk near Cave Creek and Greenway roads, where the driver did remain at the scene, and a fatal crash near 67th Avenue and Broadway Road that killed one person and injured another.
In April, a woman was hospitalized in critical condition after being hit by a vehicle in central Phoenix, with the driver fleeing before officers arrived, per the same outlet's earlier coverage. And in September, a woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at 28th Street and Van Buren Street, the same corner where 45-year-old James Dillow had been struck and killed in 2025, as previously reported by Hoodline.
Why Phoenix Streets Remain So Risky For Pedestrians
The pattern reflects a citywide problem that officials have documented for years. Phoenix ranked second nationally for pedestrian fatalities in 2023 and third for pedestrian-fatality rate per 100,000 residents, according to a city pedestrian-risk report citing federal crash data. A separate review of crash data found thousands of pedestrian and bicyclist injury crashes citywide, underscoring how often people on foot end up in the path of vehicles on Phoenix roads.
What The Law Requires Of Drivers
Under Arizona law, a driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death is required to immediately stop at the scene, or as close to it as possible, and return to the scene. Drivers are also legally required to render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transportation to a hospital when treatment appears necessary. Investigators have not said whether either driver in Friday's crash will face charges once identified, and no suspect information has been released.
Phoenix police continue investigating the hit-and-run, and no further details about the victim's identity, age or condition have been made public. The search for the dark-colored sedan and dark-colored SUV remains ongoing.
