Sedona AZ (May 18, 2014)– Just before 12:30 PM on May 17, 2014, YCSO deputies were dispatched to a traffic accident involving a vehicle and three bicyclists. One of the bike riders, 48-year-old Ethelyn Hartline of Gilbert, Arizona, was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center, Flagstaff, Arizona, in critical condition and died just before 6:00 p.m.

The two other bike riders involved in the accident, David Waechter, 52, and his 16-year-old daughter, also from Gilbert, were riding together on a tandem bicycle.

The incident occurred on Cornville Road, west of Beaverhead Flats Road in northern Arizona near Cornville, Arizona.

A tan 2011 Chrysler Van driven by Nelson Shaum, 90, from Cottonwood, Arizona, was traveling west on Cornville Road. Shaum told deputies that as he approached the two bicycles also traveling west in front of him, he believed there was enough room to pass. Shaum indicated the need to remain in his lane because he saw eastbound traffic oncoming towards him. (Please note this narrow roadway has two lanes, one eastbound and one westbound, often with soft shoulders.)

As Shaum began to pass the bicycles, the front passenger side of his van collided with the bicycle ridden by Hartline. As a result, she was thrown from the bicycle and up onto the windshield, eventually landing on the road side. The van then apparently ran over her bike, dragging it for a distance.

Hartline was wearing a helmet.

The tandem bicycle ridden by Waechter with his daughter became involved in the collision and both are knocked off their bike and injured. Waechter told deputies he was slightly ahead of Hartline when the collision occurred. It is unclear at this time what caused Waechter and his daughter to be thrown from their bike.

An off-duty nurse in the vicinity rushed to Hartline’s aid pending arrival of EMS personnel. A YCSO deputy, already in the area on a traffic control detail, blocked traffic to create a safety zone for the injured parties. Personnel from the Verde Valley Fire District and the Lake Montezuma/Rimrock Fire District treated the injured.

On May 16, 2014, the SedonaEye.com issued a traffic advisory and race information for the Verde Valley bike event https://sedonaeye.com/bike-race-weekend-in-verde-valley.

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