Driver suspected of impairment crashes into Phoenix house, killing man inside

PHOENIX – A man was arrested after allegedly driving into a Phoenix home early Wednesday while impaired, killing a person who was inside.

Officers responded to a house near 31st Drive and Southern Avenue around 1 a.m. and found Jose Martinez Aguirre, 66, trapped under a vehicle, the Phoenix Police Department said.

The Phoenix Fire Department extricated Martinez Aguirre and took him to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.

According to ABC15, Martinez Aguirre was sleeping alone downstairs while everybody else in the house was upstairs.

Really sad story this morning on #ABC15: The man who lives in this home tells me his father-in-law was killed after an SUV slammed through a bedroom wall overnight. He says Jose Luis was alone & asleep in the room when he was struck & killed. The rest of the family was upstairs pic.twitter.com/wAoYIvY2Xn

— Jamie Warren (@JamieABC15) August 23, 2023

The driver, 38-year-old Aaron Johns, remained at the scene.

Police said Johns apparently lost control of his vehicle while driving east on Wayland Drive and crashed into the residence at 31st Drive.

“Martinez Aguirre was inside of the home when the collision occurred, at which time he was trapped under Johns’ vehicle,” Sgt. Rob Scherer said in a press release. “Impairment was determined to be a factor in the collision.”

Johns was booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count of manslaughter.

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