Flagstaff, AZ- Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a one vehicle collision that resulted in the death of a twenty-five year old man from Mesa Arizona.
On Saturday June 20, 2009 at about 2:44 p.m. Emergency Communications Specialists of the Northern Arizona Regional 911 Reception Center received the report of a collision involving one off road vehicle and multiple injuries. The location was an area frequently used by off-road enthusiasts called Cinder Lakes, North of Flagstaff off of North Highway 89 and Forest Service Road 776.
Upon their arrival Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies learned that a group of people from Mesa Arizona were camping at the Cinder Lakes Recreation area. A group of five individuals left camp in a vehicle converted for off-road use, commonly referred to as a sand rail. An eighteen year-old boy was driving the vehicle, with a twenty-five year-old male in the front passenger seat and three juvenile female passengers. It is believed that the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to flip end-over-end multiple times ejecting the front seat passenger who was not wearing a seat belt. The vehicle then rolled over on the ejected victim.
Deputies and by-standers began cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the victim who was then flown by Guardian Medical Air Transport to the Flagstaff Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased. The driver and the three juvenile female passengers were wearing seat belts and were not ejected from the vehicle. The three females were taken by Guardian Ground Medical Transport to the Flagstaff Medical Center where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
Deputies are investigating the possibility that speed and the fact that the victim was not wearing a seat belt were factors in this collision. The investigation is continuing and no enforcement action has been initiated at this time.
