Police have identified a man killed in a motorcycle collision early Friday morning as 25-year-old James Winston Thompson IV.
Thompson, who was originally from Washington, was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived at roughly 2 a.m. in a gated neighborhood near Tanque Verde and Sabino Canyon roads.
Police said Thompson was killed after crashing a friend’s motorcycle into a home there.
Sgt. Mark Robinson, a spokesman for the Tucson Police Department, gave this account:
Thompson had been out with friends before going to a friend’s home in the 7300 block of East Placita Sacra.
Another friend at the home had a Suzuki GSXR 1000 sport bike. The man allowed Thompson to sit on the bike and was walking into the home when he heard the motorcycle start.
Thompson had put on a helmet that was near the motorcycle and was driving east on Placita Sacra before turning around to drive west on the street.
The motorcycle owner noticed the bike wobble as Thompson rode by.
Thompson lost control of the motorcycle and crashed into a home in the 2500 block of North Avenida Orgullo.
He was hurled through the window of a spare bedroom and hit a wall inside.
At least one man hopped into the room through the window to help Thompson but left when a woman who lived there came into the room.
Robinson said the man realized he was in someone’s home uninvited and that the owners may be armed.
The woman’s husband called 911 reporting that a man had jumped in through the window and was now lying on the floor. The couple are in their 80s, Robinson said.
Friends told police that Thompson had been drinking earlier that evening but it was not clear if he was intoxicated at the time of the collision.
Authorities are awaiting autopsy reports to determine if alcohol played a role in the incident, Robinson said.