TEMPE, AZ – Police say they have arrested a man after 2 ASU students were hit by an impaired driver in Tempe this weekend. It happened Saturday evening near the intersection of Rural Road and Apache Boulevard, right next to campus.
Surveillance video from nearby Jerry’s Drive-In Liquors captured what happened. The two male students appeared to be walking along the sidewalk when a white pickup truck came careening around the corner and ran right into the boys.
On Tuesday, Tempe police announced that 39-year-old Sheldon Whitebird was arrested Saturday night in connection to the incident earlier in the day. Impairment is being investigated as a possible factor in the crash. Whitebird was arrested and is being held on an arrest warrant from an unrelated incident in which he was suspected of DUI. Additional charges against Whitebird are pending.
One of those boys in the crash, David McCurdy, suffered the most serious injuries. He has several broken bones in his neck and spine. He underwent two brain surgeries and has been put into a medically induced coma, said McCurdy’s friend and fraternity brother, Nick Khonaysser.
He says it’s tough to see McCurdy suffering. “Seeing him get tossed across the curb kind of like a ragdoll, knowing that’s a friend of mine definitely hurt me,” says Khonaysser. “That guy deserves to be behind bars.
David’s friend Ryan was also hurt in the incident. Friends have set up Go Fund Me links for both David and Ryan to help their families with medical expenses.
Jerry’s Drive-In Liquors also posted the Go Fund Me Links for both boys on its Instagram page.
Our best wishes for a fast and full recovery for both David and Ryan.
Source: 3TV/CBS 5