A car slammed into a Lowe's hardware store in Cary overnight, leaving the vehicle badly damaged while the building itself escaped with only minor harm. Crews had the wrecked car hauled away from the store before sunrise Thursday, but key questions about how it happened remain unanswered.
Crash Scene on Maynard Road
The Lowe's sits on Maynard Road near Crossroads Plaza in Cary, according to WRAL. The outlet reported that the car was badly damaged after crashing into the store, and that the building itself appeared to have suffered only minor damage. The crash happened before 3:15 a.m. Thursday, based on when WRAL's Breaking News Tracker observed the vehicle being towed away from the scene.
That early-morning timing is about all that's confirmed so far. The station's report does not specify an exact moment of impact, only that the car was already being hauled off before 3:15 a.m. No details have surfaced yet about what led the vehicle to strike the store in the first place.
Cary has seen other cars strike businesses, but the circumstances have differed. On Feb. 6, 2026, police said a driver hit a Whole Foods while trying to park after pressing the accelerator instead of the brake; no one was injured. In a more serious 2023 crash at a Saltbox Village shopping center, an SUV drove into a children’s salon, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving. Neither case establishes what happened at Lowe’s. Police described the Whole Foods crash, while WRAL reported the Saltbox Village crash.
Driver's Condition Still Unknown
It also remains unclear whether the driver was hurt. WRAL News said it was still working to learn what caused the crash and whether the person behind the wheel was okay, and no further information had been released as of the station's report. Hoodline will share additional details on the crash and the driver's condition as they become available.
Vehicle-into-building crashes are not limited to Cary. The Storefront Safety Council estimates they occur at commercial and public buildings more than 100 times a day nationwide, and says 46% result in injuries. Those figures are the council’s estimates, not a government census: its database draws on media, court and agency records, and the group says it may capture only a fraction of incidents. The council’s figures and database description underscore why the damage at one store alone cannot show how common such crashes are.
