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RV driver sideswipes Arizona group ride in horrifying collision

Motorist receives $500 fine for their near-deadly actions

August 30, 2023
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On a Saturday, during a weekly group ride in Flagstaff, Arizona, an RV driver came dangerously close to a group of riders, resulting in injuries to seven cyclists, with three needing hospitalization. Several of those affected were associated with team Pay-N-Take, a club linked to a well-known downtown bar.
All individuals who were hospitalized have thankfully since been discharged. Watching the footage, it’s a miracle no one was killed.

Although the RV driver stopped after the collision, they were not charged. Rather, the motorist was issued a $500 citation by Lt. Adam Simonsen from the Sheriff’s Office for not allowing adequate space when overtaking the cyclists.

Reminiscent of previous collisions in area

This incident brings to mind several other unfortunate occurrences in and around Flagstaff over the years involving collisions between motor vehicles and cyclists. Once again, the event has stirred strong emotions of anger and concern within the community regarding the safety of cyclists.

Kyle Hornbeck, a member of team Pay-N-Take and owner of Single Track Bikes, was on the ride. He shared that the past few days have been a rollercoaster of emotions as he and others attempt to process the incident and do their best to support those who were most affected. “I bounce back and forth between trying to make sense of it, put myself in everyone’s shoes and just trying to operate from a place of how can I be helpful,” Hornbeck told the Arizona Daily Sun. “I’m less concerned about punishment for the driver, just more concerned with diagnosis and prognosis of my friends and teammates.”

Donations for injured cyclists

Hornbeck has initiated a GoFundMe campaign to assist the victims with medical and legal expenses.

The Saturday group ride, a tradition circling Lake Mary since the 1980s, is a regular event for team Pay-N-Take, as Hornbeck pointed out. “It’s just a lot of good, positive energy, good camaraderie. And part of our training throughout the year is to participate on this group ride,” he said. “So that’s the thing that really continues to bring us together is, if nothing else, we meet up once a week and enjoy a competitive but recreational ride out and around Lake Mary and back.”

The group was going at a good clip when the RV tried to do the closepass.

“When you’re coming down that section, you’re going 50-70 km/h, depending on what part of it is. So you’re almost keeping up with traffic there. We stay in the bike lane or as close to it as we can, riding side by side as we typically do, two abreast,” he said. “After seeing the video, it just seemed like less of an accident. Then again, maybe it could have been. But again, that video is now on social media. So people can make of it what they want.”

You can watch the terrifying incident below.