Identity released of man killed in motorcycle accident Friday
Accident caused by pickup truck pulling in front of motorcycle on Highway

Emergency personnel respond to a fatal vehicle accident on Highway 69 in front of the Frontier Village Shopping Center in Prescott Friday, Nov. 16.
Photo by Les Stukenberg.

Emergency personnel respond to a fatal vehicle accident on Highway 69 in front of the Frontier Village Shopping Center in Prescott Friday, Nov. 16.

The identity of a middle-aged Prescott man who died in a vehicle accident on Highway 69 Friday, Nov. 16, has been released by authorities.

Emergency personnel responded to the scene in front of the Frontier Village Shopping Center near Home Depot in Prescott at about 12:45 p.m.

Laying in the driveway leading up to Home Depot was a motorcyclist suffering from extensive and life-threatening injuries.

The accident was caused by an 82-year-old driver of a pickup truck who failed to yield making a left turn into the Frontier Village Shopping Center, said Kameron Lee, a public information officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Unable to stop in time, the driver of a Yamaha motorcycle, Paul Parona, 53, of Prescott, collided with the truck and was thrown from his bike.

Christine Fulton witnessed the accident.

“I was the car that was immediately behind the old guy in the pickup that pulled out,” Fulton said. “I saw the motorcycle coming east on (Highway) 69 and I went ‘oh, no, no, no, no!’ It was terrible.”

She said Parona lost the helmet he was wearing during the collision and hit his head on the pavement.

An initial report from DPS indicated that Parona was struck by several vehicles after being thrown from the motorcycle. Fulton said this is completely false.

“No other cars drove over him,” she said. “He was off the highway and bystanders got to him right away.”

Paramedics attempted to save Parona's life, but he was declared dead within about 10 minutes of them working on his wounds, said Prescott firefighter and paramedic Jeff Jones.

Eastbound 69 was temporarily closed at Yavpe Connector while DPS conducted an investigation. It was reopened around 2 p.m.

The driver of the truck is facing a moving violation citation based on Arizona Statute 28-672, but cannot be served the citation until the investigation and report are complete, Lee said.

A person who violates this statute must attend traffic survival school educational sessions and can be ordered to perform community restitution. That person’s driver’s license can also be suspended for up to one year if the violation results in death.

Follow Max Efrein on Twitter @mefrein, email him at mefrein@prescottaz.com or call him at 928-445-3333 ext. 1105.


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