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On March 16, 2024, shortly before 12:15 p.m., officers from Operations Division West and personnel from the Tucson Fire Department responded to West Saint Mary's Road and North Freeway for reports of a collision involving a blue 2024 Hyundai Tucson and a blue 2022 Genuine Scooter motorcycle. The adult male rider of the motorcycle was transported to Banner University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. After arriving at the hospital, he was pronounced deceased. He has been identified as 34-year-old Carlos Jason Lopez. Next of kin have been notified of his passing.
Detectives from the Traffic Investigations Unit responded to the scene to continue the investigation. After conducting interviews and evaluating roadway evidence, detectives determined that the driver of the Hyundai Tucson, 33-year-old Daniela Marquez-Batista, was making a left turn from W. Saint Mary's Rd. to go north on N. Freeway when she collided with Mr. Lopez, who was riding westbound on W. Saint Mary's Rd. in the median lane. The light for eastbound and westbound travel on W. Saint Mary's Rd. was green and Ms. Marquez-Batista did not have a protected green arrow. Mr. Lopez was wearing his helmet, but he did not have a valid driver's license or motorcycle endorsement at the time of the collision.
An officer with advanced training in detection of impaired drivers evaluated Ms. Marquez-Batista and determined she was not impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the collision.
Failure to yield while making a left turn by Ms. Marquez-Batista is the major contributing factor of the collision. Ms. Marquez-Batista was arrested for Causing Death by Moving Violation with the Applicable Title 28 Moving Violation (A.R.S. 28-672). She was cited and released, and no booking photograph is available. This remains an ongoing investigation.
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