Tempe Couple Woke Up to a Hole in Their House and the Driver Was Already Gone
A massive bang before 5 in the morning. A hole where the front door used to be. And a driver who reversed out and sped away without a word.
That is what Ashley and Jason Turnquist woke up to on Tuesday, June 24, in their Tempe home near Southern Road and Rural Avenue. The part that sticks is not just the crash. It is that the driver has not been found since.
Tempe police confirmed it happened around 4:45 a.m. By the time Jason reached the front of the house, all he could see was a silhouette of a Jeep backing out of his yard in the dark.
A Big Bang Before 5 a.m. and a Hole Where the Front Door Used to Be
Ashley thought it was the garbage truck at first. She got out of bed, walked toward the noise, and that is when it hit her: “Holy (expletive). Like there’s a hole in our house.”
The entire front entryway was caved in. Tire marks crossed what used to be a freshly finished front yard. Glass scattered everywhere. The door frame torn clean out.
Their grandmother-in-law was sleeping in the room closest to the impact. Their four dogs bolted toward the living room before either of them reached the front. Everyone inside was safe. But that is almost lucky.
Tire Tracks, a Caved-In Entryway, and a Driver Who Simply Drove Away
The couple had been mid-renovation. They had just finished the front yard.
Jason said it plainly: “He hit the most perfect spot of the entire house.” A few feet to the left, it would have been structural.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera caught the moments leading up to the crash. The couple turned to social media for help. Their community responded. The driver, still nothing.
Tempe police are asking anyone with camera footage to call 480-350-8311 or Silent Witness at 800-343-8477, as reported by AZFamily.
Here is the detail most stories skipped: first responders told the Turnquists this was already the second car-into-home crash in Tempe that same morning. Two homes. One night. No drivers found.
Crashes like this are more common than people realize. Just recently, a car slammed into a Chester, South Carolina home with 7 people inside and somehow no one was hurt, a reminder of how differently these moments can end.
Ashley Is Not After Charges. She Wants the Driver to Get Help.
Ashley said it clearly: “It would be great to press charges, but we have insurance for a reason. My primary concern is that this individual does get help if they were under the influence.”
She is not chasing revenge. She wants an explanation, and maybe a reason to believe the person behind that wheel is okay.
When someone hits a home at 4:45 a.m. and flees, the most common explanations are impairment or panic. No accusations here, but that is the pattern.
If you follow stories like this as they develop, there is a WhatsApp channel that covers home incidents and local crash news in real time. Worth having in your feed.
Why This Matters: Arizona Had 16,136 Hit-and-Run Crashes in 2024 Alone
This fits a much larger pattern in Arizona that does not get enough attention.
According to a recent AAA study covered by the Arizona Capitol Times, Arizona recorded 16,136 hit-and-run crashes in 2024, resulting in 86 deaths and over 4,200 injuries. More than 1 in every 8 crashes involved a driver who fled. And 2024 had 488 more hit-and-runs than 2023.
Roughly 90% of hit-and-run cases nationally are never solved. The Turnquists are already inside that statistic.
Under Arizona law, drivers are legally required to stop, stay, and provide information. Fleeing can be a felony. The law is clear. The enforcement, as the numbers show, is the hard part.
And it is not always a dramatic collision that causes the most damage.
A late-night crash in Steelton knocked down two power poles near homes, putting an entire neighborhood at risk without a vehicle even hitting a wall directly. Crashes near homes carry consequences well beyond the point of impact.
The Turnquist family had a grandmother in the room closest to where that Jeep hit. That detail alone should make this land differently than a routine crash report.
Key Takeaways
- The crash happened around 4:45 a.m. near Southern Road and Rural Avenue in Tempe
- A Jeep crossed the front yard, caved in the front entry, and drove off without stopping
- Ashley, Jason, their grandmother-in-law, and four dogs were inside. All safe.
- The couple had just finished renovating their front yard before the crash
- First responders confirmed this was the second car-into-home crash in Tempe that same morning
- The driver has not been identified. Call 480-350-8311 or Silent Witness at 800-343-8477
- Ashley’s primary goal is getting the driver help, not just consequences
If a car hit your home in the middle of the night and the driver vanished, what would you want first: answers, accountability, or just to know they got home safe? Drop your take in the comments.
Wrapping Up
The Turnquists woke up to a hole in their house, counted their blessings, and asked the community to help find someone they are not even sure they want to punish. That is a complicated kind of grace.
If stories like this are your thing, Build Like New covers real incidents, home damage news, and the human side of what happens when things go sideways. Worth bookmarking.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication. The investigation is ongoing.
