Two men were seriously injured late Saturday night after being hit by a motorcycle near Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, with first responders rushing to the scene just after 11 p.m. Both men were taken to the hospital, and police say they are expected to survive.
Shortly after 11 p.m., first responders were called to the area of 7th Avenue and Jefferson Road, according to AZFamily. Firefighters arrived to find both men with serious injuries, the outlet reported.
The motorcycle driver stayed at the scene following the crash, per the same account. Phoenix police said they are still working to determine whether the driver was impaired, though no further details on the circumstances of the impact have been released.
A Familiar Intersection for Downtown Crashes
The stretch of 7th Avenue and Jefferson Road has drawn scrutiny before. ABC15 previously reported on a separate crash at the same intersection that involved two pedestrians, a Phoenix Police Department Tahoe and a pickup truck, according to ABC15. In that incident, the pickup reportedly turned without yielding to traffic, clipping the police vehicle and pushing it into two people standing on the sidewalk, Phoenix Police Officer James Holmes said. The two pedestrians remained hospitalized in stable condition afterward, while the pickup driver was released, ABC15 reported.
Chase Field itself has also been the backdrop for at least one fatal motorcycle crash. KTAR reported that a motorcyclist died after colliding with a vehicle one Wednesday afternoon in downtown Phoenix, with officers responding around 2 p.m. to the area of 7th and Grant streets, just south of the ballpark, according to KTAR. Police identified that motorcyclist as 65-year-old Michael Duane Pryor, who had been traveling south on 7th Street before the collision; he was taken to a nearby hospital and did not recover from his injuries, while the driver of the other vehicle remained at the scene, KTAR reported.
What Investigators Are Still Sorting Out
In Saturday night's crash, Phoenix police have not released the identities of the two injured men or the motorcycle driver. The exact circumstances of how the motorcycle struck the men have not been detailed publicly, and the question of possible impairment remains part of the ongoing police review.
