12 News reported that a pedestrian died after being hit by a car in Phoenix near Grand Avenue and Indian School Road around 8 p.m. Police are investigating. No findings about how the collision occurred or who was at fault have been reported, and nothing here should be read as a conclusion about either.
When a pedestrian dies after being struck by a vehicle in Arizona, two separate claims can arise from the same event. A wrongful death action under A.R.S. § 12-611 to § 12-613 belongs to the surviving spouse, children, parents, or the personal representative of the estate, and it compensates those survivors for their own losses: lost companionship, lost financial support, grief, and funeral expenses. A survival action under A.R.S. § 14-3110 is different; it belongs to the estate and carries forward the claims the person who died could have brought, including medical expenses incurred before death. Both are generally subject to the two-year filing deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542, and a claim against a city, county, or state defendant also requires a written notice of claim within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01. Police concluding an investigation is not a prerequisite; the civil deadlines run regardless of how long the criminal side takes.
Right of Way Is Decided by Statute, Not by Where Someone Was Walking
Insurers often open a pedestrian file by asking whether the person was in a crosswalk. Arizona law is more specific than that. A.R.S. § 28-792 requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk on the driver's half of the roadway, or close enough to it to be in danger. A.R.S. § 28-793 covers crossings outside a marked crosswalk or intersection and requires the pedestrian to yield to vehicles, but it also states that every driver must exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian. Those duties exist at the same time. A pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk does not erase a driver's obligation to keep a proper lookout, drive at a reasonable speed, and react to what is visible on the road ahead.
That matters because of A.R.S. § 12-2505, Arizona's pure comparative fault rule. Fault is divided by percentage, and a recovery is reduced by the share assigned to the injured or deceased person rather than eliminated. A family told that a claim is worthless because their loved one was not in a crosswalk is being told something Arizona law does not say.
Evidence at a Wide Arterial Intersection Disappears Quickly
Corridors like Grand Avenue carry commercial traffic, and the useful evidence is usually electronic and short-lived. Practical steps for a family in the days after a fatal pedestrian collision:
- Request the Phoenix police report and the case number as soon as the report is released, and note the identity of the investigating unit.
- Send written preservation requests to nearby businesses for exterior camera footage. Many systems overwrite within one to two weeks.
- Ask that the involved vehicle not be repaired or sold until its event data recorder can be downloaded; that module can record speed and braking in the seconds before impact.
- Photograph the location, including lighting, signal timing, lane configuration, and the distance between marked crossings.
- Keep every medical bill, ambulance invoice, and funeral expense receipt in one place.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer before you understand what the investigation shows.
If a driver left the scene, A.R.S. § 28-661 imposes a duty to stop and remain at the scene of a collision involving death or serious physical injury. If a driver is never identified or is uninsured, uninsured motorist coverage on a household auto policy can still apply to a pedestrian in many situations, so every policy in the home should be reviewed.
Who Is Allowed to File, and When
Under A.R.S. § 12-612, the wrongful death action is brought by the surviving spouse, child, or parent, or by the personal representative on behalf of those survivors. If no personal representative has been appointed, probate may need to be opened before a lawsuit can be filed, which takes time. Families sometimes wait for a criminal case to resolve and find the two-year period in A.R.S. § 12-542 has largely run. Where a government entity may share responsibility, the 180-day notice of claim deadline in A.R.S. § 12-821.01 arrives far sooner than that and is strictly enforced. Determining early whether a public entity is potentially involved, for example through roadway design or a government-owned vehicle, is one of the first things worth sorting out.
If your family is dealing with the death or serious injury of someone struck while walking, our Phoenix pedestrian accident attorneys can explain what the evidence shows and what deadlines apply to your situation.