Driver fatigue likely led to a crash in Arizona that killed two bicyclists and injured 14, according to the NTSB

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Fatigue likely led to a pickup truck driver crash last year that killed two bicyclists and injured 14 other drivers on a bridge in Goodyear, authorities said Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the matter February 2023 accident on the Cotton Lane Bridge in Goodyear19 miles west of Phoenix. A major factor in the collision was the driver’s “decreased alertness, probably due to fatigue,” it said.

According to the NTSB report, the driver’s speed and lack of reaction early in the crash sequence contributed to the severity of the cyclists’ injuries.

Pedro Quintana-Lujan, 27, was originally booked into a Phoenix jail on suspicion of manslaughter, aggravated assault, endangerment and causing serious injury or death by moving violation.

A charging document originally released by Goodyear police said Quintana-Lujan told officers on the day of the crash that he was driving in the left of two northbound lanes of the bridge when his steering locked up and he pulled into the free one right lane and then drifted into the other. He drove onto the adjacent bike path, where he heard “a metal-like sound.”

However, a preliminary NTSB report said they were two separate investigators checked his truck and found no problems.

Charges have been filed against Pedro Quintana-Lujan, who said the steering of his pickup truck locked up just before he hit a group of cyclists in Goodyear a year ago.

A later NTSB report said Quintana-Lujan smoked marijuana the night before the Feb. 25 collision with the group of Phoenix-area cyclists.

The Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office said Quintana-Lujan had a small amount of THC – the main psychoactive component of cannabis – in his system, but noted that Arizona law does not set a standard for proving impairment from THC alone.

District attorneys declined to file felony charges, saying there was insufficient evidence.

The case was sent back to the Goodyear District Attorney’s Office, where 11 misdemeanor charges were filed against Quintana-Lujan. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence.

Goodyear Municipal Court officials said Quintana-Lujan has a pretrial conference on Oct. 16.

A call to Phoenix attorney David Cantor, whose law firm represents Quintana-Lujan, was not immediately returned Tuesday.