Yikes.
Suspected DUI? of course. Hit and Run? uh huh.
Arizona has tough DUI laws, right? Don’t count on it. If the driver is found to be impaired, expect nothing more than a misdemeanor DUI. Possibly misdemeanor hit-and-run (as apparently there were no injuries, unless you count the driver’s bump on the head). Prosecutors seem to have no imagination. EnDANGERment? Naw.
A driver crashed his “car” into a neighbor’s Ahwatukee home, causing extensive damage. Oh well. Phoenix PD refused to name the driver, despite apparently detaining or arresting him on suspected impairment. Why? PPD never revealed the name of the DUI driver that collided with Hans Hughes, killing him; I had to buy a copy of the police report to find out, it’s public record: why such secrecy?
Sidenote: it was mentioned in the story about a recent fatality in Gilbert caused by a driver which GPD identified as Joshua Degolier: “Around 10 p.m. Jan. 11, an 88-year-old woman who lived in the American Orchards Senior Community senior care facility on the corner of Lindsay and Guadalupe roads was struck by an alleged drunk driver who crashed through a wall of the building.” –abc15
Here’s the local news story:
Crash into local home could have been worse
By Paul Maryniak, AFN Executive Editor
… An Ahwatukee woman nearly lost her life and she and her mother were displaced from their home after an alleged drunk driver crashed his Chevy Tahoe SUV into their garage last week.
The [a-word redacted] in a corner home on 42nd Street at East Mountain Vista Drive around 8:20 p.m. Jan. 28 caused considerable structural damage … Phoenix Police said the driver – like the one in the fatal Gilbert [a-word redacted] – also ran from the scene but was apprehended a few blocks away, where he apparently lived. They did not identify the driver, who reportedly was treated for minor injuries.
Police said impairment is believed to be a factor in the crash.
The fact that this “car” weighs nearly 3-ton, and several hundred horsepower kindof bugs me.
I do take issue with one thing in the story — the idea that this is a “freak occurrence”, see seriously-how-often-does-this-happen for a collection of these sorts of stories; drivers lose control for one reason or another constantly; there are few consequences.
2nd bonus Case: Glendale Nov 10, 2024 fatal inside house
Suspect arrested after car crashes into house in Glendale, killing homeowner, 3 months ago
Feb 6, 2025, 11:00 AM
PHOENIX — The Glendale Police Department on Tuesday arrested a woman suspected of drunkenly driving a vehicle into a home and killing the homeowner three months ago.
Celeste La Sean Downer, 22, allegedly drove a 2016 Dodge Dart through the front living room of an occupied residence near 67th Avenue and Beardsley Road on Nov. 10, 2024.
Police said Downer fatally struck 35-year-old Amanda Rogers… Downer, who was driving a car with two passengers, had a blood alcohol level of .124 during the crash, according to court documents.
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