SUV Crashes Into House in Mesa After Swideswipe From Suspected Drunk Driver; Both Drivers Fled Scene | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
Navigation

SUV Crashes Into House in Mesa After Swideswipe From Suspected Drunk Driver; Both Drivers Fled Scene

When the tremendous sound and rumble shook the Mesa house at 3:30 a.m., 19-year-old Sepi Tengei's first thought upon awakening was "earthquake."She and other family members quickly found out what had happened: An SUV had slammed into the home's wall outside the master bedroom and crashed into the bed where...
Share this:

When the tremendous sound and rumble shook the Mesa house at 3:30 a.m., 19-year-old Sepi Tengei's first thought upon awakening was "earthquake."

She and other family members quickly found out what had happened: An SUV had slammed into the home's wall outside the master bedroom and crashed into the bed where her sister, Luisa, and her sister's husband had been sleeping.

The front of the truck had hit the head of the bed, sending it and the couple on top flying across the room.

"The bed is in pieces now," she says, adding that the couple miraculously weren't hurt.




By the time they went outside, the driver of the green GMC Yukon was gone.

Police say the collision in the residential neighborhood near Alma School Road and the Loop 202 was actually a "double hit-and-run:" A suspected drunk driver in a Mazda had rammed the SUV, causing it to swerve into the house.

The Yukon smashed into a neighbor's block-wall fence before striking the home, which may have it slowed it down some.

The Mazda's driver, Michael Abbott, 19, was pulled over for speeding soon after the crash, and officers noticed that the damage to his car matched the damage to the Yukon.

Tengei says cops found one of the Mazda's mirrors in her front yard.

Abbott blew a .234 BAC in a breath test, police say. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Police shouldn't have too hard of a time finding the Yukon's driver.

The vehicle's apparent owner lives just a few doors down, Tengei says.

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.