El Tour crash probe turned over to county attorney
by Sheryl Kornman on Dec. 06, 2008, under Local, Special, SportsMotorist, 91, may face charges
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s investigation of a hit-and-run bicycle crash involving El Tour de Tucson riders went to the Pima County Attorney’s Office on Friday afternoon.
Deputy Dawn Barkman said the sheriff’s investigation was “inconclusive” and the county attorney will decide if criminal charges will be brought in the incident.
A 91-year-old motorist, William Arthur Wilson, was identified as a “person of interest” in the Nov. 22 collision that injured at least five El Tour de Tucson bicyclists. His name was in a search warrant filed in Superior Court.
His attorney, Michael J. Bloom, said Wilson helped build America’s first atomic bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
One cyclist – Gary L. Stuebe, 42, of Surprise – was taken in critical condition to a Phoenix hospital, where he was being treated at a neurological institute.
The other riders’ injuries were less serious, authorities said.
Sheriff’s deputies said a driver failed to yield to a westbound pack of about 60 riders on West Ina Road, turning in front of them onto North Westward Look Drive. Ten bicyclists, unable to stop in time, collided with the vehicle, deputies said.
Witnesses said the driver got out, looked at the damage to his car and the fallen bicyclists, got back in his vehicle and drove away.
