3 Arizona motorcyclists killed not long after attending vigil for another motorcyclist
We're learning more about the three bikers killed in a crash in southern Arizona.
An SUV was traveling on SR 80 when the driver crossed the median and crashed into the three riders. The three men are all from the Phoenix area and were on their way back from a vigil for another rider.
After speaking with their loved ones, it was apparent they had a love for riding and were all part of a motorcycle club.
On Sunday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m., three motorcycle riders were hit by the driver of a red Infiniti SUV. The motorcyclists were heading home when Arizona DPS says the driver of the SUV, a 41-year-old man from Huachuca City, crossed the center-striped median and crashed into them.
This happened on SR 80, eight miles south of St. David in Cochise County. DPS says impairment is suspected of the SUV driver.
The victims were James Maurice Samuel, 55, of Maricopa, Anthony Odell Davis, 37, of Maricopa and Bennie Melvin Eugene Dansby, 40, of Glendale.
Photo courtesy: Terry Fields Jr.
"I'm angry because of the simple fact that you got on the highway drunk, and not only did you take one life, but you took two other great people," said Bennie's cousin, Jazzmin Dansby.
All three men were in a motorcycle club called the "Chosen Few." They were on their way home from a vigil for another motorcyclist.
"He was actually out in that area for a vigil for somebody else who had passed. He actually had just posted about it like hours before, about the candlelight service they were having out there, just to come around and see the same thing happen to him," Erick Dansby, another one of Bennie's cousins said.
"To get that phone call to say that he was hit on his motorcycle, that's not something you wish on anybody," Erick said.
"The day before, it was my birthday, so I turned 36, and I had just talked to him that night. I was supposed to see him that day when he got back," Jazzmin said. "Next time, I see him in a box."
On Friday, there will be a candlelight vigil for the three riders in north Phoenix. As for the 41-year-old driver, dps says criminal charges are pending.
Milcc Walker, a Chosen Few, says he knew all three of the men.
"These guys were soldiers," he said.