A driver slammed into a West Phoenix 7-Eleven early Sunday, knocked out power to nearby streetlights and the gas station, and then reportedly disappeared into the darkness before search crews could catch up. Phoenix fire and police crews launched a land and air search near 75th Avenue and Camelback Road after the crash, but the driver was nowhere to be found.
Crash Severs Power, Traps Car Inside Store
Emergency crews were dispatched around 1:45 a.m. Sunday to the 7-Eleven gas station near 75th Avenue and Camelback Road, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The driver struck a utility pole before crashing into the convenience store, an impact that severed power to nearby streetlights and the gas station itself. Responding firefighters and Phoenix police officers found a single car lodged inside the building, which was closed for the night with no one inside.
Emergency crews searched the canal after the crash. Initial reports indicated the driver had jumped into the canal right after the crash, though that detail was never confirmed.
Two-Mile Canal Search Comes Up Empty
Phoenix police used a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging as fire and police crews searched the canal for two miles in both directions, the station's report notes. Despite the extensive effort, search teams located no driver or patient in the water or the surrounding neighborhood.
The canal itself posed serious risk to anyone who might have entered it. Salt River Project manages a 131-mile canal system across the Phoenix area, where swift currents and steep, slick concrete banks make entering the water extremely hazardous and self-rescue difficult, according to Salt River Project. Crews from the utility also responded to the scene, working to repair the damaged lines. An SRP spokesperson said the repairs are expected to take some time before power is fully restored.
Investigation Continues as Location Draws Scrutiny
Phoenix police have taken over the hit-and-run investigation and continue searching for the missing driver, per the same FOX 10 account. If no injuries are ultimately confirmed, Arizona law treats the case as a property-damage hit-and-run. Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-662, leaving the scene of an accident involving only property damage is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail, a $2,500 fine, and potential license suspension, according to AZ Law Now. Those penalties could escalate if investigators establish driver impairment or injuries that went unrecorded at the scene.
The crash adds to a troubling record for the surrounding corridor. The nearby intersection of 75th Avenue and Indian School Road was ranked the single most dangerous intersection in metropolitan Phoenix by the Maricopa Association of Governments, due to high crash frequency and an outdated lane layout, according to KJZZ. The City of Phoenix reactivated its photo safety enforcement program in February, with mobile speed cameras under its Road Safety Action Plan, per the City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department.
Vehicle-into-storefront crashes are also a nationwide pattern, not an isolated Phoenix problem. More than 100 vehicles collide with storefronts across the United States every day, with convenience stores and retail outlets representing the majority of impacted businesses, according to data compiled by the Storefront Safety Council and reported by Business Insider.
For now, the driver's whereabouts remain unknown, and it is unclear whether they escaped on foot into the neighborhood or fled by another vehicle. Phoenix police continue to lead the investigation as SRP crews work to restore power to the area.
