MPD releases grisly photos, new details in fatal Honeycutt crash

Maricopa police today released new graphic photos and a detailed report on a crash that instantly killed a motorcyclist when he slammed into the passenger side of a car.

Dena Paige Devine was driving her 2020 Subaru Outback with a male passenger on Honeycutt Road, making a left turn at Continental Boulevard. It was then when a motorcycle driven by Jordan Piergrossi slammed into the passenger door of the vehicle Devine was driving, causing extreme damage to both vehicles.

Piergrossi, a 47-year-old father from Mesa, died instantly from blunt-force injuries to his head and body.

Photos show a scene of blood in the street and motorcycle fragments strewn about the intersection. Much of the motorcycle disintegrated in the crash and the SUV’s passenger door was severely smashed in.

One photo shows a Maricopa officer administering CPR chest compressions to the motorcyclist’s lifeless body, his arms grotesquely twisted in the collision. The safety airbags inside Devine’s vehicle were all deployed.

The MPD officer interviewing Devine shared his first impression.

“When talking to Dena, I could smell the odor of intoxicating beverages emanating from her,” Officer A. Abel states in the Jan. 20 report. “Dena was crying as well.”

“I asked Dena if she had anything to drink tonight,” the officer’s report continues. “Dena said she had three to four beers.”

The passenger in Devine’s vehicle told an investigator at the scene they both had “approximately four beers.”

Although witnesses said the motorcyclist appeared to be traveling up to 100 miles per hour and never applied his brakes, Able estimated it was moving at 55 miles per hour in the 45 zone at the time of impact. A short skid mark from the motorcycle was found at the scene.

Maricopa officers drew blood from Devine for the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab to test for an alcohol level. They then conducted their investigation and turned over their findings to the Pinal County Vehicular Crimes Bureau, comprised of officers from the county sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies.

In his crash-scene narrative, Officer A. Pittman said he conducted the field sobriety test.

“Dena was very wobbly and unable to keep her balance,” Pittman wrote, adding she also had trouble stepping heal to toe.

After the test, she was taken to Exceptional Healthcare for a blood draw. She was then taken back to the scene to be interviewed by the sheriff’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau , which in turn had her drug tested.

Maricopa Police Department and the sheriff’s office VCB still await the blood-alcohol findings from the DPS Crime Lab, which often takes more than six months to process because of an overload of cases statewide.

Vehicular crimes Officer Tyler Gordon with Eloy Police Department, the lead investigator in the crash probe, said a warrant was issued Jan. 29 through Eloy Municipal Court, giving the task force access to the “black box” of Devine’s vehicle.

The so-called black box is a device formally known as an “event data recorder.” EDRs are found in all newer vehicles today. The device helps investigators determine who was at fault by detailing what happened in the moments before a collision.

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