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Pick-up driver who crashed into group of cyclists charged with murder

Shawn Chock had already been indicted on charges including 9 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon

A pick-up truck driver who crashed into a group of cyclists who had just started a race in Arizona in June has been charged with murder after one of the riders dies in hospital earlier this month.

> Six cyclists critical as police shoot suspect who drove into Arizona road race

Shawn Chock, aged 36, had already been indicted on charges including nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in relation to the incident in Show Low, around three hours northeast of Phoenix, on 19 June.

Chook was shot by a police officer as he tried to drive away from the scene of the crash in which seven cyclists were injured.

One of the cyclists, 58-year-old Jeremy Barrett, subsequently died from the injuries he sustained when Chock is alleged to have deliberately driven into the group of riders at the Bike The Bluff event.

“Jeremy was a wonderful mentor and friend in the cycling community. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

According to officials, some 270 cyclists were competing in the various categories of the 58-mile race, which aimed to raise money for a local school.

Witnesses reported seeing cycle helmets, shoes and broken bikes strewn across the road, and photograph taken at the scene showed the wheel of a bike stuck in the pick-up truck’s grille.  

One of those taking part, Tony Quinones, described how he saw the driver veer across three lanes towards a group of fellow competitors.

“I don’t know who the heck this guy is, or what his motive was, but he intentionally did not go left into a parking lot,” he said at the time.

“He drove his truck directly and intentionally into our group, and you could hear him accelerate until he hit that telephone pole.”

Other cyclists ran to the vehicle and were shouting at the motorist to get out, but he instead sped off.

Police set off in pursuit and Chock was shot outside an ACE Hardware store several streets away. He was released from hospital earlier this month after treatment for his wounds.

Chock is reported to have a number of arrests for driving under the influence, as well as a number of past convictions.

In 2010, he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated DUI and shoplifting and entered a no contest plea to a charge of aggravated assault. He spent more than 16 months in jail from May 2013 after breaching probation conditions.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

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brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

"Murder"?  So, even in America that means they think he actually intended to kill those people?

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qwerty360 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

Not quite.

They believe he intended them harm and committed an act where serious injury was a predictable outcome.

Unlike attempted murder, murder doesn't require intent to kill, only intent to cause harm.

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brooksby replied to qwerty360 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Really?  Is that because it's nth degree murder, then, rather than 'proper' (1st degree?) murder?

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panda replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

I don't know about the US, but in the UK at least, "attempted murder" isn't just murder without the basic competence to get the job done, it requires the prosecution to prove that death was the intended outcome.  It's actually quite hard to get convicted of.  Also counter-intuitively "murder" doesn't require that death was the intent, merely that death resulted from an attempt to cause serious injury.

If intent isn't provable beyond reasonable doubt (and that is difficult unless someone left a note or told someone their plan) then the CPS will go for manslaughter.  This, in a nutshell, is why murder is easy to get away with if you don't mind doing a stretch for manslaughter.  And, as we read all too often on these pages, if your weapon of choice is a motorised vehicle then you only need to not mind 3 points on your license and being told you should concentrate more in future.

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Jenova20 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

He veered across 3 lanes of traffic to hit them and was still accelerating after crashing into them. That's premeditated, not accidental.

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