Democratic state Senate candidate John McLean was killed by a drunk driver Friday morning

John McLean, a Democratic candidate for state Senate who lost last week’s election, was killed Friday morning in a crash near Broadway and Houghton Road, police said.

McLean, 68, was driving east on Broadway when a northbound car ran a stop sign and hit the politician’s car, a Tucson police spokesman said.

McLean, the head of the defense contractor before his promotion, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other driver, who was not seriously injured, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated vehicular manslaughter, police said.

McLean is the 82nd person to die on the streets of Tucson this year. The charge includes 27 people in vehicles, 29 pedestrians, 7 cyclists and 19 motorcycles. By this time in 2023, 89 people had died in road accidents in the city.

Police believe McLean was driving a 2019 Toyota Rav4 eastbound on Broadway, according to TPD. Michael Martin Creel, 27, was driving a 2018 Ford Explorer northbound on Ridgeside Drive, east of Houghton Road, and failed to stop at the intersection.

Ridgeside’s roadway before the intersection is straight, with a stop sign placed well before Ridgeside meets Broadway.

According to interviews and evidence collected at the scene by detectives, the Explorer struck the Rav4 on the passenger side, police said.

According to TPD, an impaired driver enforcement officer evaluated Creel for impairment. “Mr. Creel was found to be in good health at the time of the collision and was subsequently arrested,” police said.

Wings was booked into the Pima County Jail and faces criminal charges.

Under state law, involuntary manslaughter is a Class 2 felony, with a potential sentence of 7-21 years in prison for a first offense.

In Arizona, aggravated DUI is a Class 6 felony, with increased charges for repeat violations or driving while suspended. The sentences include a mandatory minimum of four months in jail and 10 years of probation, with a potential prison term of up to 3.75 years and large fines.

Creel already had a DSI conviction dating back to April 2022. He also faced a DSI charge in August, but that was dropped. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and consumption of alcohol by a minor in 2015, and assault that year and numerous other charges that were dismissed in Tucson City Court.

“The investigation is ongoing and at this time detectives have identified speed and impairment as known contributing factors to the crash,” TPD said.

McLean was slightly behind in the Republican 17th Legislative District as former state Sen. Vince Leach, who was unseated by Sen. Justin Wadsack in the 2022 primary but came back and defeated her in this year’s primary, won by 2 percent. .

“My thoughts and prayers are with the McLean family on their tragic loss today,” Leach said Friday. “My deepest condolences to John’s family and friends at this difficult time. As a third-generation Arizonan, the lives John has touched in his lifetime are countless, and we should all be fortunate enough to do the same.”

Born in Phoenix, McLean graduated from the University of Arizona in 1975 and went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of California. Ten years later, he returned to Tucson.

He was CEO of Areté Associates, a DoD contractor that bills itself as a provider of “advanced science and technology that protects the nation and the world from the seabed to space,” and previously worked for TRW Space and Defense Group. He was active in the dog rescue community.

State Sen. Priya Sundareshan, a Democrat who met McLean when he decided to run for the Legislature, said she was “devastated by the news.”

“I’m saddened that we lost a great candidate and a great person, someone who worked so cheerfully and hard to run a very important campaign,” Sundareshan said. “He retired and he continued to be involved in the community with all those organizations, supporting animals, and then he wanted to make it bigger.”

The Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee released a statement on McLean’s death.

“Throughout his campaign, John demonstrated all the qualities of a great leader. He focused on listening and learning, and his kindness and generosity always shined through. Running for public office was just the latest way John McLean spoke up for his community. Whether as a businessman, volunteer or humanitarian for causes he was passionate about, John always did the hard work of bringing people together to serve the common good,” the political group said.

McLean told the Sentinel this summer that when he was CEO, he traveled too much to have a dog.

“So literally the day after I retired, we came home with a 10-week-old chocolate lab puppy,” McLean said. “A few months after we got this beautiful young dog, I started volunteering at the Humane Society and working with the dogs there.”