Yuma crash investigation leads to recovered firearm after suspects flee

A crash call on Yuma’s south side turned into a firearm recovery after police say a vehicle hit a utility pole near South Ninth Avenue and West 11th Street and the occupants ran. Yuma police said officers were sent after 2 a.m. Friday, and during the search that followed, a firearm was discarded in the area and later recovered.

Police said the people in the vehicle ran before officers arrived and went through several backyards before they were found. The investigation remained open after the weapon was recovered, and officials did not say whether anyone was injured, whether charges were filed immediately, or whether the firearm was tied to the vehicle’s occupants.

The location put the incident in a busy residential stretch where South Ninth Avenue and nearby side streets carry steady neighborhood traffic and visible police activity can quickly affect residents’ sense of safety. One summary of the same police post listed the crash near South Ninth Avenue and West 12th Street, creating a small discrepancy with the main account that placed it at West 11th Street.

The case also shows how a routine collision can escalate into a broader public-safety response. What began as a traffic investigation involving a utility pole became a search for fleeing occupants and a recovered gun, raising the stakes for officers moving through backyards and for neighbors watching an overnight response unfold nearby.

The Yuma Police Department Records Bureau says it serves as the central repository for police reports and related records and produces a monthly statistical report sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for crime tracking. The department also says police and accident report requests are handled through its records process, which will be the official path for residents seeking the case file once it is available.