Adan Alcala, the 33-year-old drummer for the Los Angeles-based band The Outlaw Mariachi, is facing more than five major surgeries after a Tesla hatchback struck him while he was crossing a street in Tempe and the driver fled the scene, according to his family. Alcala, who performs under the name Niko Stixx, was in the Valley for a series of shows with the band when the collision happened near McClintock Drive and Palmcroft, where the group had been staying at an Airbnb, according to AZFamily.
Tempe police are still searching for the driver who hit Alcala and drove away, according to Yahoo News, which reported that the Tesla hatchback was traveling south on McClintock Drive near Broadway Road when it struck him. Police later found the Tesla abandoned, and they told Alcala's wife, Jennifer Elford, that he was placed on a ventilator after the collision, according to AZ Family.
Elford said she received a call from Banner Health around midnight on October 9 and initially thought it was a scam before learning her husband had been hospitalized, the station reports. She said the crash upended their lives and that she was in distress once police told her what had happened. Alcala and Elford live in California, and the band had flown in for the trip, with a stop scheduled at the Graham County Fair, according to Yahoo News.
A Shout of Warning Before the Impact
Alcala remembers the seconds before the collision, including hearing a pedestrian yell “watch out” just before the car hit him, according to AZ Family's report. Elford believes that same witness called 911 immediately, a response she credits with saving her husband's life. Band manager Matteo Duran told Yahoo News the group did not realize Alcala was missing until the next morning, saying, “we didn't realize that he was gone until the morning.”
The injuries have been extensive. Alcala underwent emergency surgery to remove his spleen and has a punctured lung, a broken clavicle and a broken pelvis, in addition to broken bones in his neck, leg and ankle that required further surgical repair, per the same AZ Family account and corroborated by Yahoo News. Elford said her husband will need more than five major surgeries in total and roughly a year of physical therapy. She said he is awake but not out of danger, and that she is unsure what his full recovery will ultimately look like.
Career and Community Impact
Elford said the injuries could end her husband's music career, a possibility that casts uncertainty over a group known for blending rock-and-roll energy with mariachi tradition. The Outlaw Mariachi has performed across the West Coast, as noted by 12News, and Alcala's bandmates have said he still has a place in the group regardless of what comes next. Elford and her family say they are taking the recovery one day at a time.
Alcala's family has established a GoFundMe to help cover his medical costs as he continues treatment, as reported by AZFamily. Tempe police are asking anyone with information about the crash to come forward, as the search for the driver who fled the scene continues.
