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Tempe bicyclists injured after SUV driver hits them
TEMPE, Ariz. - Several bicyclists were injured after a driver in an SUV reportedly hit them in Tempe early in the morning on Sunday.
The Oct. 6 crash happened near College Avenue and 15th Street around 7:45 a.m., the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department said.
Five bicyclists were hit by the driver, but authorities say they're all expected to recover.
Two victims were taken to the hospital, two others received treatment and another was found to not have any obvious injuries.
There's no word on what caused the SUV driver to hit the victims.
The crash is under investigation.
'Just give us the space'
Nathaniel Davis and Narissa Sandecki took a different route, but came to the assistance of their fellow bicyclists not long after the collision happened.
Davis says there is one biker who needs to stay overnight at the hospital, but the rest have luckily been released. Davis says he takes his son out on rides often, and with Sandecki being pregnant, he has several personal reasons for being so concerned about safety.
He said riding is a source of solace for this group, and they won't stop heading out on their bikes, but they want drivers to be aware of their surroundings.
"Regardless of whether you’re pregnant or a child or older, we all have families, and we all have a life," Davis said.
"Look up your bike laws. It’s not in the driving test, but it should be in the driving test. That’s probably the one thing that I would love to have changed, is that you are legally supposed to give us three feet. Just give us the space," Sandecki said.
For Davis, the incident brought back the trauma of being struck on his bike in a separate crash.
"It's nothing that anybody that rides a bike wants to go into and see your friends being hauled off in ambulances," he said. "I have a titanium rod in my leg. I was hit in 2011 by someone running a red light, and since then, I've just been really hard on people that don't care about what's around them."
Tempe Police are investigating what led up to the crash. Davis says a witness told him they noticed the driver being aggressive.
"She said that he was right behind them for a good amount of time and sort of was yo-yo-ing and just plowed through them. She said, verbatim, she said, ‘They flew up like bowling pins,’" Davis said.