Two 18-year-olds airlifted after Yuma motorcycle crash, speed suspected
Two 18-year-olds were airlifted to Phoenix after a Yuma intersection crash, and police said speed appears to have played a role.
Two 18-year-olds were airlifted to Phoenix after a late-night motorcycle crash at South Mary Avenue and East 24th Street, where Yuma police said speed appears to have been a factor. The rider and his passenger, both on a 2009 Harley-Davidson, suffered life-threatening injuries after the motorcycle struck a 2026 Honda Civic just before midnight.
Police said the motorcycle was traveling eastbound on East 24th Street when it hit the Civic, which was being driven by a 21-year-old woman making a left turn onto Mary Avenue. The crash happened at about 11:21 p.m. on June 15 in Yuma.
The severity of the injuries led to an airlift to a Phoenix hospital, underscoring how quickly a turn movement at a city intersection can become a trauma response. Yuma police have not said what other factors, if any, may have contributed beyond speed, and investigators will still need to sort out the exact sequence of events at the intersection.
The crash lands in a broader safety picture that has remained grim across Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation reported 1,228 traffic fatalities statewide in 2024, along with 121,107 total crashes. ADOT says those crashes and deaths are driven by dangerous behaviors including impairment, speed and seat belt use, and its crash statistics are compiled from police reports submitted by law enforcement agencies across the state.
Motorcyclists remain especially vulnerable. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 6,228 motorcyclists killed nationwide in 2024 and said riders were nearly 27 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die per vehicle miles traveled. In Yuma, that risk was on display at South Mary Avenue and East 24th Street, where a left turn and a fast-moving motorcycle turned a routine trip into a life-threatening emergency.
Accident reports are obtainable through the Yuma Police Department Records Bureau, which can help residents track how often serious collisions surface on city streets and corridors that carry daily traffic through Yuma.
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