Hit by a car in Glendale, Arizona: your rights and finding a pedestrian accident lawyer

Last checked November 8, 2026

If a car hit you while walking or biking in Glendale, Arizona, make sure Glendale Police write a report.1 Drivers must use care even when a walker makes a mistake.2 You generally have 2 years to sue,3 but a claim against a city is due within 180 days.4

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Road map of Glendale, Arizona showing 53rd Avenue and Camelback Road, one of the city's HAWK pedestrian crossing signals
Hit while walking? Arizona drivers must still use care. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

I was a pedestrian hit by a car in Glendale. What do I do now?

  1. Call 911 and stay put until help comes. Do not let the driver talk you out of an officer.
  2. Do not use Glendale's online report tool for this. It asks if anyone was injured, as part of sorting which cases can be filed online.5 The non-emergency line is (623) 930-3000.6
  3. Get the plate, the name and a phone number from anyone who saw it.
  4. If you were taken to a hospital, ask a family member to go back and take photos of the crossing and any signals.
  5. A child who was hurt may be taken to Phoenix Children's Arrowhead, a Level IV center at 19007 N. 67th Ave.7

How often are people on foot hit around Glendale, AZ?

Maricopa County counted 1,516 pedestrian crashes in 2024, with 158 people killed and 1,425 hurt.8 Bike riders were in 991 crashes, with 27 killed.9 ADOT gives those numbers by county only, and we could not find a city count for Glendale.

Darkness is the big risk. Across Arizona in 2024, daylight crashes with people on foot numbered 1,034, and 34 of those were fatal.10 Crashes on lit streets after dark numbered 725, and 136 of those were fatal.11 That is fewer crashes and four times the deaths. If you were hit at night, the lighting, the driver's headlights and your clothing will all come up.

Did the driver have to stop for me in Glendale?

Where you were crossingWhat Arizona law says
A crosswalk with no working signalDrivers must slow or stop for you on your side of the road12
Outside a marked or intersection crosswalkYou must yield to cars, which can affect who is blamed13
Anywhere at allDrivers must still use care to avoid hitting you2

Crossing mid-block does not end your claim. Arizona lowers an award by your share of the fault, so a jury could put part of the blame on you and part on the driver.14

Glendale also has HAWK signals, which look like traffic lights. They stop cars only when someone waiting to cross presses the button.15 The city lists 53rd Avenue and Camelback,16 65th Avenue and Glendale Avenue,17 and 67th Avenue and Montebello among them.18 If you pressed the button at one of these and were hit anyway, tell the officer exactly that.

There was no sidewalk where I got hit in Glendale. Does that matter?

It can. The city's own project list shows gaps. In the Central Core near downtown, missing pieces of sidewalk sit on 11 streets inside 1.4 square miles.19 Between Maryland Avenue and Bethany Home Road, from 43rd to 59th Avenue, more than three miles of sidewalk are missing.20 West of Grand Avenue, from Missouri to Bethany Home, a project covers about 2.2 miles of missing sidewalk and 1.5 miles of new bike lanes.21

Those lists do not by themselves make the city responsible, and some projects may already be done. They do help explain why you were walking in the road. Take photos of the spot before it changes. If you think a public agency's road or sidewalk played a part, the 180-day notice clock is the one to watch.22 Glendale publishes no claim form that we could find, so ask the City Clerk at 623-930-2252, Option 1.23

What are my rights if I was on a bike in Glendale?

A person riding on the road or shoulder has the same rights and duties as a car driver, with some special rules.24 Drivers passing you must leave at least three feet until they are safely by.25 If a car clipped you while passing, note how close it was and whether a bike lane was there.

Glendale finished its Active Transportation Plan in 2019 and expects to update it in fiscal year 2026-2027.26 Its Vision Zero work is still under way,27 so ask for the police report and the crash data for that street instead of waiting for a city plan to name it.

Who pays my medical bills after a car hits me in Glendale?

Usually the driver's insurance, which in Arizona may be as low as $25,000 per person.28 Your own auto policy can still help even though you were on foot, if you bought uninsured coverage. Insurers have to offer it in writing.29 Ask your agent before you assume it does not apply.

Save your trauma records. Banner Thunderbird is listed by the state as Level I, with renewal pending,30 and it releases records through MRO Patient Central.31

When should I call a pedestrian accident lawyer in Glendale?

  • The driver or insurer says you stepped out and it was your fault.
  • You have a head injury, broken bones or surgery ahead.
  • The spot has no sidewalk, a dark crossing or a broken signal.
  • The driver left. Glendale Police keep a hit and run line at (623) 930-3495.32
  • The person hurt was a child. The two years usually wait until 18,33 but evidence does not.

Questions

How long do I have after being hit by a car in Glendale?

Generally 2 years to sue.3 Against a public body, your notice is due in 180 days.4

Can I sue if I was not in a crosswalk?

Yes, you may still have a claim. You had to yield, but drivers must use care,2 and your share of fault lowers the award.14

What is a HAWK signal in Glendale?

A crossing signal that stops traffic only when someone waiting presses the button.15

How much room must a driver give a bike in Arizona?

At least three feet until safely past.25

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Glendale

Hit while walking or biking

Arizona

Sources

  1. Arizona DPS, Request Records, checked 2026-11-08. “If the report you are requesting was the result of a collision that occurred on a town, city or county road, contact the law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”
  2. A.R.S. § 28-794, checked 2026-11-08. “every driver of a vehicle shall: 1. Exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on any roadway.”
  3. A.R.S. § 12-542, checked 2026-11-08. “within two years after the cause of action accrues”
  4. Arizona Revised Statutes 12-821.01, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues”
  5. Glendale Police, File a Report, checked 2026-11-08. “Was someone injured as a result of this incident?”
  6. Glendale Police, Phone Directory, checked 2026-11-08. “Non-Emergency | (623) 930-3000”
  7. Arizona Department of Health Services, Designated Trauma Centers, checked 2026-11-08. “19007 N 67th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85308 08/18/25 08/18/28”
  8. ADOT, 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, checked 2026-11-08. “| Maricopa | 1,516 | 158 | 1,358 | 158 | 1,425 |”
  9. ADOT, 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, checked 2026-11-08. “| Maricopa | 991 | 27 | 964 | 27 | 973 |”
  10. ADOT, 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, checked 2026-11-08. “| Daylight | 1,034 | 34 | 1,000 |”
  11. ADOT, 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, checked 2026-11-08. “| Dark - Lighted | 725 | 136 | 589 |”
  12. A.R.S. § 28-792(A), checked 2026-11-08. “the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be in order to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling”
  13. A.R.S. § 28-793(A), checked 2026-11-08. “A pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway.”
  14. A.R.S. § 12-2505, checked 2026-11-08. “the claimant's action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion to the relative degree of the claimant's fault”
  15. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “Traffic is stopped only when the push-button is activated by someone waiting to cross the roadway.”
  16. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “53rd Avenue and Camelback Road”
  17. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “65th Avenue and Glendale Avenue”
  18. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “67th Avenue and Montebello Avenue”
  19. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “are located on 11 streets within a 1.4 square mile area.”
  20. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “The project area includes more than three total linear miles of missing sidewalk.”
  21. City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “The project will construct approximately 2.2 total linear miles of missing sidewalk, 1.5 miles of new bicycle lanes, and 0.5 mile of shared bicycle facilities.”
  22. A.R.S. § 12-821.01, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues”
  23. City of Glendale, City Clerk, checked 2026-11-08. “623-930-2252, Option 1”
  24. A.R.S. § 28-812(A), checked 2026-11-08. “A person riding a bicycle on a roadway or on a shoulder adjoining a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle”
  25. A.R.S. § 28-735(A), checked 2026-11-08. “When overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction, a person driving a motor vehicle shall exercise due care by leaving a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle of not less than three feet until the motor vehicle is safely past the overtaken bicycle.”
  26. City of Glendale, Active Transportation Plan, checked 2026-11-08. “Glendale anticipates updating the ATP during fiscal year 2026-2027.”
  27. City of Glendale, Safe Streets for Glendale, checked 2026-11-08. “is developing comprehensive Vision Zero and Safety Action Plans”
  28. A.R.S. § 28-4009(A)(2)(b), checked 2026-11-08. “(i) $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident. (ii) Subject to the limit for one person, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident. (iii) $15,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.”
  29. A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A), checked 2026-11-08. “Every insurer writing automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policies shall make available to the named insured thereunder and by written notice offer the named insured and at the request of the named insured shall include within the policy uninsured motorist coverage”
  30. Arizona Department of Health Services, Designated Trauma Centers, checked 2026-11-08. “Banner Thunderbird Medical Center 5555 W. Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85306 09/30/22 *09/26/26”
  31. Banner Health, Medical Records, checked 2026-11-08. “you can request your medical records from any Banner Health hospital, provider office, or urgent care location.”
  32. Glendale Police, Phone Directory, checked 2026-11-08. “Hit and Run Accident Information | (623) 930-3495”
  33. A.R.S. § 12-502, checked 2026-11-08. “the period of such disability shall not be deemed a portion of the period limited for commencement of the action”

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