An Arizona man was sentenced last week to 22 years in prison for striking a motorcyclist while driving drunk and dragging the bike and the rider for nearly a mile before realizing it.
“The friction from being pushed at such a distance caused the bike to catch fire as it was pushed down the road,” the Pinal County Attorney’s Office said in a statement last week.
Darrel Evans, 61, was killed in the October 5, 2024, collision.
The prosecutors’ statement said Joel Stephan Goble, 40, had been drinking at several locations before jumping in his truck and speeding more than 100 mph down US Highway 60 until he rammed into the back of Evans’ motorcycle.
Surveillance video showed Goble get out of his truck about 4,000 feet past the initial crash site and remove the burning bike and rider off his grill before he fled the scene. Troopers, however, had seen him dragging the bike and stopped him before he could get away.
Several hours after the incident, Goble’s blood had a .132 alcohol content. The legal limit in Arizona is 0.08.
“This case highlights the importance of holding repeat DUI offenders accountable,” prosecutor Stephen Bridger said. “This defendant had multiple prior DUI convictions, and even had warrants for his arrest from yet another DUI just prior to this collision.”
County Prosecutor Brad Miller said the collision “was not an accident.”
“This was a preventable tragedy fueled by reckless choices and repeated disregard for the law,” he said.
Goble was convicted in September and sentenced last week to 22 years in prison for second degree murder and 7 years probation for leaving the scene of a fatal collision.
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[Featured image: Joel Goble/Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and Darrel Evans/Heritage Funeral Home]
