GLENDALE, Ariz. — More than a year after Kimberly Pero lost her left leg to a suspected drunk driver, that man was arrested and formally charged.
Glendale Police arrested Jason Tasker, 42, on a grand jury warrant that indicted him for aggravated assault and endangerment.
“It was frustrating because 15 months had gone by, and nothing happened,” said Pero on Wednesday.
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On Memorial Day weekend 2021, Pero was out riding her motorcycle along with her husband, when she was run over allegedly by Tasker near 67th Avenue and Union Hills in Glendale.
Pero’s left leg was severely injured, but two days after the crash it had to be amputated above the knee.
Police arrested Tasker the night of the crash. He was taken to Glendale Jail where a blood alcohol test was conducted, records showed. His results came back as 0.155 and 0.157 BAC, both nearly twice above the legal limit.
After the crash, Tasker was let go, arresting documents showed. They detailed that a Glendale Police Officer drove him to the suspect to his home after multiple attempts of attempting to reach someone on the suspect’s phone to go pick him up.
Tasker has nine prior felony convictions, records showed.
His arrest is a sense of relief for Pero.
“Only because I’ve been thinking about 15 months of him walking around free and I can’t walk, the right way,” Pero said. “I’m hoping that he didn’t get back in a car and do something worse to somebody.”
Cash bail of $100,000 was set for Tasker during his first court appearance. He will be arraigned on the two felony charges on Friday, Sept. 16.
“I’m going to count on the justice system and hope they do the right thing,” Pero said.
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