Early Friday in North Miami, the morning rush came with a jolt when an SUV barreled through the front of an Arona Home Essentials showroom, injuring a child and spraying debris across the store. Rescue crews and officers shut down parts of NW 126th Street and NW 7th Avenue as they picked through the wreckage and launched an investigation.
According to WSVN, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units were called out just after 6:15 a.m. for a crash involving a white Audi Q3 and a Dodge Charger that sent the Audi straight into the showroom. 7News cameras and the station's drone footage showed the SUV lodged inside the building with broken furniture and glass scattered both indoors and on the sidewalk.
Store location and damage
Arona Home Essentials lists its North Miami store on NW 7th Avenue between NW 125th and NW 126th streets, part of a rent-to-own furniture and appliance chain. The impact tore up the storefront, and authorities temporarily shut the business while crews cleared debris and checked the structure to make sure it was safe.
Injuries and official response
Officials with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told WSVN that a pediatric patient was taken by private ambulance to an area hospital, and that the extent of the child's injuries was not immediately known. Both drivers appeared to be unhurt, officers blocked off nearby streets, and the Dodge Charger was towed away with front-end damage as crews got ready to pull the Audi out of the showroom.
A recurring hazard for storefronts
This crash is the latest in a string of incidents across South Florida in which vehicles have punched into businesses, sidelining operations and forcing costly repairs. Earlier this month, surveillance video captured an SUV slamming into an Oakland Park business, a collision that CBS Miami reported highlighted just how disruptive these hits can be for small storefronts and surrounding streets.
North Miami police officers and traffic investigators stayed on scene Friday morning while tow crews and structural inspectors worked to secure the building and remove the vehicle. Officials have asked anyone with information or video of the crash to contact investigators, and local outlets indicated they plan to update the public as more details come out.
