MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Along Avra Valley Road in Marana, there are only farms and fast cars. A dolly in the middle of the road could cause a lot of problems.
“They were on their way home, they had almost hit the dolly,” said Aryn Leneve.
Aryn’s father, 55-year-old Dale Leneve, was driving home with his boss last Friday night when they saw the dolly.
“Immediately, my dad was like ‘Pull over pull over, you need to stop," Leneve said. "I need to get that before somebody gets hurt.’”
His boss pulled over and Dale got out of the car to move it, but he was too late. One driver ran into it.
Then, Dale rushed to remove the dolly before a second oncoming driver did the same, but the driver hit him and he died on scene.
“The look on her face I instantly already knew," Leneve said. "I said 'If I know what you’re about to say please don’t say it'.”
Aryn was in Florida when she got the call from her mom.
“That’s when she said it that your dad passed away.”
Aryn says her dad struggled with drugs and alcohol abuse his whole life, but was sober in the last four years. She says he always tried to do the right thing.
“I’m not surprised how my dad left this earth: doing a heroic act. That’s him, 110%.”
This is the second pedestrian death on Marana’s roads this year. Lt. Tim Brunenkant says if there’s anything obstructing the road, call 911.
“When we get a call of an object in the roadway, we’ll respond," Brunenkant said. "We have our backlights that slow traffic down. We’ll go into the roadway and remove it as safely as we can.”
The driver who hit Dale stopped and answered questions for police. Officers are putting the case together to send to the county attorney. She will decide whether to press charges.
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Perla Shaheen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Perla graduated in May 2020 from the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Political Science. Share your story ideas and important issues with Perla by emailing perla.shaheen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
