FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. - The man behind the wheel of a SUV that struck four people in Fountain Hills back in March was extradited from Ohio and booked into 4th Avenue Jail Thursday, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
MCSO said 27-year-old Alex Bashaw was arrested on a grand jury warrant in Ohio earlier this month.
Bashaw's driving, according to court documents, was determined to be reckless. Investigators say Bashaw was speeding and using his phone seconds before the crash that killed four people.
According to the documents, Bashaw was driving a Ford Explorer northbound in the curb lane of Saguaro Boulevard just after 9 a.m. He was going 53 mph in a 35 mph zone, the documents showed.
Court documents revealed that Bashaw "failed to negotiate" the roadway's slight curve as it approached the intersection with Palisades Boulevard.
Bashaw's SUV jumped the curb and stuck two people walking on the sidewalk. The vehicle returned to the roadway and entered the intersection on a red light where it hit two more pedestrians walking in a crosswalk, documents said.
Wife and husband Karen Bonta, 71, and Robert Bonta, 72, and Patti Doornbos, 60, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, were killed in the crash.
Doornbos' 60-year-old husband, Ronald Doornbos, was the only victim who initially survived the crash. He was transferred from Arizona to a hospital in Canada where he died on June 12.
Bashaw told authorities that after his vehicle jumped the curb, he saw the people on the sidewalk and steered to avoid hitting them.
According to court documents Bashaw said he "looked down while driving and did not know why he drove off the road." He said he was not using his cellphone at the time of the collision, and it was in a cradle and he could use the phone in a hands-free mode.
Bashaw also said he was driving 33 to 35 mph.
According to court documents, however, Verizon data obtained by investigators showed Bashaw was "involved with his cell phone within seconds of the first pedestrian collision."
The investigation, court paperwork said, revealed Bashaw's vehicle was traveling at a "minimum speed of 41 mph" when it struck the first pedestrians, who were about 40 feet south of the intersection.
Based on Bashaw's speed, investigators believed he "would have run the red light no matter what," court documents said.
Bashaw stayed at the scene and it was determined he was not impaired at the time of the crash.
Court paperwork showed Bashaw jumped out of his vehicle and began CPR on two of the victims following the collision.
