Man who caused deadly Peoria crash while on marijuana to spend decades in prison: MCAO
Bjorn Hartzell
PEORIA, Ariz. - Prosecutors in Maricopa County say a man will spend decades in prison for his role in a crash that left five people dead.
What we know:
According to court documents released by prosecutors, 20-year-old Bjorn Keali Hartzell has been sentenced to a total of 30 years for five counts of 2nd degree murder and a count of endangerment.
In a statement, prosecutors said Hartzell was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
The backstory:
Per MCAO's statement, the crash happened in November 2023.
"Hartzell, 16 years old at the time, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee near 107th Avenue and Lone Cactus Drive in Peoria when he struck a minivan carrying a family of two adults and four juveniles who had just left a Thanksgiving get-together," read a portion of the statement. "The two adults were pronounced dead at the scene. All four juveniles were transported to area hospitals. One died shortly after arriving at the hospital, and two others later died from their injuries. One juvenile survived."
Dig deeper:
Investigators say Hartzell was driving between 112 mph and 115 mph in a 40 mph zone at the time of the crash.
"A drug recognition expert who evaluated Hartzell observed multiple signs of cannabis impairment. Hartzell admitted to smoking marijuana, and a court-authorized blood draw confirmed the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Hartzell's blood," prosecutors wrote.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a statement released by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, and from court documents released by MCAO.