Suspect in deadly Goodyear bike crash tries to get charges dismissed
GOODYEAR, AZ (AZFamily) — More than two years after a horrific cycling crash, the survivors continue to fight for justice. They came one step closer Friday as the driver who caused the crash appeared in court, not on felony charges, but misdemeanors.
The crash happened back in February 2023 in Goodyear when Pedro Quintana-Lujan plowed into a group of cyclists. Two of them, Karen Malisa and David Kero, were killed, and 17 others were injured.
Quintana-Lujan faces 12 misdemeanor counts for an accident that caused serious physical injury or death. His attorney filed a motion to have 11 of those counts dismissed, saying it was a single civil traffic violation that caused the crash.
Clay Wells was one of those injured. “I was struck from behind. I barely survived. I was in a coma for 10 days in the hospital. I lost five weeks of memory,” .
Arizona’s Family Investigates has been following his recovery from his time in the hospital through physical therapy. He had to teach himself to walk again before finally getting back on a bike. “I kinda set a goal for myself when I was laying (sic) in the hospital bed that I would be back on a bike before a year went by,” he explained.
He’s since taken on a role he never wanted, spokesperson for the group, pushing for accountability for Quintana-Lujan.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s office declined to pursue felony charges, saying there wasn’t enough evidence. Prosecutors in Goodyear followed up, filing these misdemeanor charges. “There’s putting a presence with who the victims really are. It’s not just names on a piece of paper,” Wells said.
It’s why he says they continue to come to court for every hearing. “I still have some strong feelings about why it all happened and how unnecessary it all was. But it happened,” Alfred Gonzales, one of the injured cyclists, said.
Quintana-Lujan pleaded not guilty to these 12 counts of misdemeanors. He told police his steering wheel locked up. But two NTSB investigators found no issues with his truck.
Investigators also found THC in his system. Quintana-Lujan said he smoked marijuana the night before the crash. Ultimately, the NTSB found driver fatigue caused the crash.
Arizona’s Family Investigates tried to speak with the driver after court, but he didn’t respond to any questions. “No one knows what’s going on his mind but him and no one really knows what happened that day but him. We all know what the results are,” Wells said.
The judge ruled that the 12 counts could stand. He’s expected to review all the evidence in the case and determine whether Quintana-Lujan is guilty. That’s expected to come at the next court proceeding, which is scheduled for late May.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Do you have a story you want us to investigate? Tell us about it by contacting us.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
