TEMPE, Ariz. — A large delivery truck crashed Monday afternoon into a Tempe home near Papago Park with no one behind the wheel, officials said.
The collision was reported at about 2 p.m. near McKellips Road and College Avenue in northern Tempe.
Three people at the scene, including the FedEx delivery driver, were evaluated by Tempe firefighters but none sustained life-threatening injuries. One person was taken to the hospital for further evaluation, Tempe fire officials said.
Tempe police and neighbors said the truck's driver was not behind the wheel before the truck hit the residence. Before the collision, the FedEx truck was involved in another crash with a separate car, which knocked the delivery man out of the driver's seat and onto the road.
Julia Blair, a neighbor who lives a few houses away from the home, said she was standing in her kitchen when she heard three consecutive booms. When she looked out her window, she saw a yellow car in the middle of the road and a man lying on his back in the street.
"I thought he was dead," Blair said.
She then rushed outside to the delivery man to see if he was okay.
"I just freaked out," Blair said. "I opened the door and just took off running to him and I was like, 'Oh, my God, oh, my God. Oh, my God, are you okay? are you alive?''
Blair claims the driver told her that his back was hurt. She also said she could see several cuts and road rash from the impact on his body.
"He had told me that he just realized he was driving, he felt a hit and he was thrown out of the truck," she said.
12News spoke with the driver of the yellow car. She identified herself as Jessica and said the FedEx truck hit her bumper and then crashed into the house. She then said she was going to speak with police.
FedEx issued the following statement:
“Our thoughts are with those involved in this accident. There is no higher priority for FedEx than safety, we are fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.