GOODYEAR, AZ — Some closure may be near for the victims in a deadly cycling crash in Goodyear in February of 2023.
More than two years after the crash happened, the driver in the case, Pedro Quintana Lujan, pleaded guilty to 12 misdemeanor counts for either causing death or injury by a moving violation on Thursday.
“There’s a certain part of finality that this is coming to its conclusion,” said Clay Wells, a victim in the crash. Wells was the last of the victims in the crash to get out of the hospital and has since been recovering.
On a morning in February 2023, a group of 20 cyclists from the West Valley Cycling group were taking their routine ride across the Cotton Lane Bridge when they were hit by a pickup truck driver. Two people died in that crash, Karen Malisa as well as David Kero.
Police and reports say Pedro Quintana Lujan, who was 26 at the time, was driving the truck. He originally told police that his steering locked, however, two separate evaluations cited in a National Transportation Safety Board report showed there were no issues with his truck. However, the report said fatigue likely played a role in the crash.
It’s been a long, almost two-and-a-half years for the victims who have been waiting for justice. Quintana Lujan was originally booked into jail for manslaughter, endangerment and causing serious injury or death by a moving violation. However, he was later released after Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell sent the case back to Goodyear police.
Months later, Mitchell told the victims she was not pursuing felony charges because there was a lack of evidence. Records show Quintana Lujan had some THC in his system; however, Mitchell said Arizona law doesn’t have a set standard for proving impairment by THC only.
“[The evidence] just wasn't there. It's heartbreaking and it's unsatisfactory but it is where we are at right now,” she said to ABC15 in November 2023. “It's a collision where we cannot show with the evidence that there was a conscious disregard of a risk that this individual made.”
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Victims were upset that Mitchell did not pursue felony charges and ultimately sent the case back to the City of Goodyear, where the prosecutor then filed 12 misdemeanor charges.
“The biggest disappointment goes back to the County Attorney, Rachel Mitchell, for not pursuing this,” Wells said.
The case was supposed to go to trial, but then a plea deal was agreed upon and discussed during a Thursday hearing, where Quintana Lujan said he was guilty on all 12 counts.
In the plea deal, Quintana Lujan could face between six to 12 months in jail, probation, license suspension for up to 180 days, quarterly drug testing, restitution and fines. However, that will be up to the judge to decide, and the sentencing is slated for September 4th.
"I know several of the victims have, they just want it to be over. It's been a long arduous road for them, especially for those who lost loved ones,” Wells said.
ABC15 spoke on the phone with Steve Malisa, Karen’s husband, after the hearing on Thursday. He said he’s “very disappointed” with how the case turned out, adding that “it doesn’t make sense that two lives could be taken and only get a moving violation.”
“My wife was taken from us, all her friends and the community. I don’t want it to go unnoticed, and if I had my wish, something positive would come from this,” he told ABC15, hoping that state lawmakers would see their case and hopes some sort of change would come so that others may never feel the pain his family has felt.
