Justin Cetas, MD, PhD, chair of neurosurgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, died July 13 after a motorcycle collision with a tow truck, according to ABC affiliate KGUN.
Investigators determined the "major contributing factor" was the truck failing to yield when making a left turn in front of the surgeon's motorcycle, which hit the rear passenger side of the truck, according to the report. Dr. Cetas, 51, was transported to Banner University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
Dr. Cetas graduated from the College of Medicine-Tucson MD-PhD program in 2002 and returned to the city in 2021 to serve as UArizona's neurosurgery chair.
"On behalf of everyone at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson and Banner-University Medicine, we would like to express our most sincere sympathies to Dr. Cetas' family and loved ones," UArizona said in a statement. "We are all deeply saddened by this sudden and tragic event that is so difficult to process, as we come together to grieve his passing. Dr. Cetas was a talented neurosurgeon who dedicated his life to caring for others. He was also a skilled educator, respected researcher, trusted colleague and friend to many. He will be greatly missed."