Comments (2)
Print
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A driver suspected of being drunk crashed his car into a pedicab in downtown Scottsdale after the Fiesta Bowl, leaving two Kansas State football fans with serious injuries, authorities said Friday.
Scottsdale police said Joseph Paul Spano, 27, of Phoenix, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, endangerment and aggravated assault. Police didn't immediately know if he had a lawyer.
Police said Cody A. Clark and Michael D. Tysver, who were riding in the pedicab, remained hospitalized Friday. Clark reportedly suffered head trauma, and Tysver has a spine injury.
Friends said both 21-year-old men from Great Bend, Kan., were in Arizona for Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, where No. 5 Oregon beat No. 7 Kansas State 35-17.
The pedicab's 19-year-old driver was treated at a hospital and released. He told police he was taking the Kansas men from a bar to their hotel when the crash occurred at about 3 a.m. Friday.
A pedicab is a tricycle with a passenger compartment attached. They have become an increasingly common mode of transportation for people hopping between bars in downtown Scottsdale in recent years.
Witnesses told police that the pedicab was making a left turn when a car struck it from behind.
Kinsey Schofield told Phoenix TV station KTVK that the crash ``was a terrifying sight, probably the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life.''
The pedicab driver told police he didn't see Spano's car and had no time to react and avoid the collision.
Investigators say it appeared the pedicab was properly equipped with lights, mirrors, reflectors and brakes, and everything was in working order before the crash.
