A 52-year-old woman died after being struck by a pickup truck while crossing East Golf Links Road outside a crosswalk late Friday night, becoming the 24th pedestrian fatality recorded in Tucson so far in 2026. Andrea Lynn Behlers was hit in the 7200 block of East Golf Links Road and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
According to KGUN 9, the Tucson Police Department responded to the pedestrian collision at about 10:19 p.m. on Friday. Investigators say Behlers was crossing Golf Links Road from north to south when she was struck by a white 2017 Toyota Tacoma. The Tucson Fire Department transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Per detectives, Behlers was outside a marked crosswalk at the time of the collision. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured and remained at the scene, and the department's impaired driving enforcement unit determined the driver was not impaired, police said. No arrests or citations had been issued as of the report, and the investigation remains ongoing.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled Safety Record
The 7200 block of East Golf Links Road sits in a commercial and residential stretch of Tucson's East Side, between the major arterial junctions of Kolb Road and Pantano Road, according to Grease Monkey Oil Change & Auto Service. Traffic safety analyses and police records identify Golf Links Road as part of the City of Tucson's High Injury Network, with intersections like Golf Links and Swan Road ranking among the city's highest overall crash corridors, per Elmm Law Group.
The corridor has seen repeated severe crashes this year. A motorcyclist was killed in the 4200 block of East Golf Links Road in June, and a multi-vehicle crash in January in the 5300 block left people with critical injuries, Patch reported.
Why Arizona's Arterials Are So Dangerous for Pedestrians
A City of Tucson Pedestrian Safety Action Plan study found that arterials posted at 40 to 45 mph account for more than 90% of severe and fatal pedestrian collisions citywide, with Golf Links Road accounting for nearly all pedestrian crashes on the city's urban freeway-style arterials, according to the city's own findings. Those wide, high-speed roadways create long gaps between signalized crosswalks, a design pattern that safety planners have linked directly to crash severity.
The timing of Friday's collision also fits a well-documented pattern. National data compiled by the Governors Highway Safety Association shows more than 75% of pedestrian traffic fatalities nationwide occur during nighttime or dark conditions. Vehicle type may also be a factor in outcomes broadly: light trucks and pickups accounted for 54% of pedestrian fatalities nationwide where vehicle type was recorded in 2023, driven in part by taller front-end grille designs, the organization's research found.
Arizona's pedestrian fatality rate stood at roughly 3.6 per 100,000 residents in 2024, nearly double the national average and second-highest in the country behind New Mexico, according to AZ Law Now. Tucson's own numbers so far this year show a mixed picture: the city has recorded 63 traffic fatalities in 2026, down slightly from 65 at the same point in 2025, but pedestrian deaths have climbed to 24 this year from 19 last year, per the KGUN 9 report.
What Arizona Law Says About Fault
Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-793, a pedestrian crossing a roadway anywhere other than within a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, is legally required to yield the right-of-way to vehicles on the roadway, according to Justia Law. At the same time, A.R.S. § 28-794 places an overarching duty on drivers to exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians regardless of crossing location, as explained by Brad Johnson Injury Law.
Tucson voters have already taken steps aimed at the broader problem. The city's Proposition 411 extended a half-cent sales tax to generate $150 million over 10 years for traffic-calming improvements, street lighting, and pedestrian crosswalk upgrades, according to reporting from Smart Cities Dive. Whether those investments reach corridors like Golf Links Road in time to change the trajectory remains to be seen, as the investigation into Behlers' death continues.
