Photo Courtesy Barbra Hernandez: Police believe the driver of the SUV that crashed into the B&D Air Conditioning building was driving under the influence of hard drugs.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Authorities believe “hard drugs” were a factor in a collision early-morning April 6, when a man drove an SUV into the B&D Air Conditioning building at the intersection of 8th Avenue and 8th Street.
The driver, Kade A. Good, was arrested for DUI, DUI-drug, criminal damage, reckless driving, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Officers were initially dispatched to the scene at about 7:09 a.m. and came upon a silver Land Rover SUV inside the B&D Air Conditioning building with its engine still running.
Witnesses at the scene advised the Land Rover was stopped at the intersection when it went to turn northbound onto 8th Avenue and jumped the curb and went into the building. Multiple witnesses advised Good still had his foot on the gas well after having crashed through the building and one witness advised finding Good unconscious behind the wheel.
When asked how the crash occurred, Good allegedly said he was going to turn northbound onto 8th Avenue when he saw another vehicle and attempted to hit the brakes. Good said he accidentally hit the gas instead and drove into the building. During interaction with the police, an officer noticed a green, cut straw with apparent drug residue that was protruding from Good’s back pocket, according to the report. The straw was deemed drug paraphernalia and was seized. It later tested positive for amphetamine.
The SUV crashed through the building, knocking over shelves damaging a desk and store products, and caused a large hole in two walls of the business.
An employee who was in the building when the crash occurred advised Good was the only occupant. When he came upon the scene, he said the SUV’s tires were “burning out” and Good was unconscious with his foot still on the accelerator.
Good allegedly denied using any hard drugs recently and said he has been clean for months. The officer reported Good admitted only to smoking a cannabis product at about 3 a.m. Good also advised he has a medical marijuana card.
Good said he suffered a previous injury to his head and has been suffering seizures from it the past few days. He advised that might have been why he was found unconscious at the scene.
After performing field sobriety tests, Good was arrested for DUI and a blood sample was taken for testing purposes. He was then released. Charges are pending test results and review by the Graham County Attorney’s Office.
