Crash involving motorcycle restricts traffic near Kolb and Valencia roads

A motorcycle crash near South Kolb Road and East Valencia Road left the motorcyclist with life-threatening injuries and disrupted travel for people moving through southeast Tucson early Monday. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the motorcycle collided with another vehicle. The motorcyclist was taken to a hospital, while the driver of the other vehicle remained at the scene. Investigators had not announced additional details about what led to the collision.

The crash forced the closure of northbound Kolb Road, along with the eastbound Valencia Road detour, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Officials asked drivers to stay away from the area and warned that delays would continue while investigators worked at the scene. No reopening time was available. The restrictions affect a major route through the area and could complicate trips for residents, commuters, commercial drivers and anyone traveling between Kolb and Valencia.

The investigation remained active, and authorities had not released the identities of either driver or information about possible citations or charges. Officials also had not provided an update on the motorcyclist’s condition beyond describing the injuries as life-threatening. The presence of another driver at the scene was confirmed, but investigators had not said whether impairment, speed, roadway conditions or any other factor played a role.

A separate serious crash was reported the same day near Golf Links Road and Kolb Road, according to Tucson police. In that incident, a pedestrian was hit and suffered serious injuries. Police said lane restrictions were expected to remain in place for several hours and advised motorists to avoid the area. The available information does not indicate that the pedestrian crash and the motorcycle collision near Valencia were the same incident.

Both incidents came during a particularly deadly period on roads in southern Arizona. A review reported by 13 News counted 21 serious crashes in April that had killed 17 people, including collisions in Tucson, Pima County and surrounding communities. The reported cases included drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists, underscoring the risks faced by people using roads in different ways across the region.

Earlier in the month, Tucson police investigated several fatal or serious crashes involving pedestrians. A person was seriously injured near Sixth Avenue and Irvington Road on April 3, and another person was killed near South Country Club Road and East 18th Street on April 4. Joe Frank Trujillo, 36, died after being hit near 29th Street and Alvernon Way on April 7. Anthony Michael Pashano, 37, was killed near Tanque Verde Road and Pantano Road while riding a bicycle that police said failed to yield while leaving a private parking lot. Gregory Scott Cunningham, 61, died after being hit while walking near Speedway Boulevard and Rosemont Boulevard on April 14. Police said the drivers in the Country Club, 29th and Alvernon, Tanque Verde and Pantano, and Speedway and Rosemont crashes stayed at the scenes, cooperated and were not impaired.

Motorcycles were also involved in several serious incidents during the same stretch. Michael A. Luttrell, 64, suffered life-threatening injuries in a single-vehicle scooter crash near Benson Highway and Kino Parkway on April 5 and died days later. Police said he was not wearing a helmet. On April 7, Jacob Mikal Jacome, 25, died after his dirt bike collided with another vehicle near Golf Links Road and Houghton Road. Police said the bike was not street legal, had no lights, and Jacome was not wearing a helmet. On April 13, another motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries after a crash involving a commercial truck near Nogales Highway and Aerospace Parkway. Alexy Alcantar, 26, died April 20 after a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on Mount Lemmon. The Sheriff’s Department said Alcantar was wearing protective gear and was not speeding when the motorcycle crashed in a curve.

Other fatal and serious crashes reported in April included a deadly collision near Grant Road and Oracle Road on April 1, in which 62-year-old John Forrest May died and the other driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by a moving violation. On April 10, 3-year-old Anna died in a high-speed crash near Country Club Road and Valencia Road. Authorities charged Christian Isaiah Randall, 22, and Oscar Ramirez, 16, with second-degree murder, endangerment and aggravated assault, alleging they were street racing. Anna’s mother, who was pregnant, was driving the vehicle that was split apart in the crash, and later gave birth to a daughter named Ellianna. That crash occurred near a location where a fatal high-speed collision had happened little more than a month earlier.

The April incidents also included a pedestrian hit and seriously injured near 22nd Street and Kolb Road on April 10, a hit and run near Grant Road and Alvernon Way on April 11, and a crash near Oracle Road and Miracle Mile in which 23-year-old Angel Said Matuz Barrera later died. In Pima County and nearby areas, crashes killed two people at Marana Regional Airport, killed two children in a three-vehicle crash near Sierra Vista, and killed or critically injured people in a rollover involving a van on U.S. 191 near Pearce. For residents near Kolb and Valencia, the immediate priority remains avoiding the closed lanes and following official traffic directions until the motorcycle crash investigation is complete.