The crash happened just before 4:30pm on Sunday, September 6, at North Park Produce in the 12000 block of Poway Road, near Sabre Springs Parkway. According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, deputies responding to multiple reports of a vehicle crashing into the business arrived to find a silver 2024 BMW sedan that had driven through the front of the store.
Video obtained by SanDiegoVille shows the extraordinary aftermath inside the market, with the BMW sitting amid shattered glass, broken framing, damaged fixtures and merchandise. The vehicle appears to have traveled well beyond the storefront and into the area occupied by checkout lanes.
Three people were injured in the collision, and the Sheriff's Office said all three initially suffered injuries considered life-threatening. They were transported to area hospitals and were subsequently reported to be in stable condition. Sheriff's officials later confirmed the three injured people were not occupants of the BMW and that the driver was not injured.
Initial information provided by Poway Fire officials differed somewhat from the Sheriff's Office's later account. Battalion Chief Rodney Ortiz told reporters that four people were injured, including two believed to be store employees. According to that initial report, two people were transported to hospitals while two others declined transportation. The Sheriff's Office subsequently reported three injured people were transported with life-threatening injuries, and SanDiegoVille is relying on that later law-enforcement account for the current victim count.
Social media comments from people claiming to have witnessed the aftermath provide additional, though unverified, details about the chaos inside the market. One commenter asked about a woman who was reportedly pinned following the impact, while another person said they saw a woman with an apparent foot or leg injury. SanDiegoVille has not independently verified those eyewitness accounts, and authorities have not released details about the specific injuries suffered by the victims.
The impact forced customers and employees to evacuate the grocery store while emergency crews worked around the heavily damaged storefront. An engineer was called to evaluate the structural integrity of the building following the collision. At least one of those injured was reported to be a North Park Produce employee.
Exactly what caused the BMW to suddenly drive through the storefront remains under investigation. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, while the vehicle was towed for further examination. Authorities say alcohol and drugs are not believed to have played a role in the crash.
North Park Produce is located at 12342 Poway Road. Despite the store's name, the crash occurred in Poway, not San Diego's North Park neighborhood, a distinction that generated considerable confusion on social media as images and video of the remarkable scene began circulating.
The Poway location is a specialty grocery market known for its large selection of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, produce, meats and imported products. The severity of the storefront damage and whether the market will be able to reopen immediately have not yet been announced.
Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact the Poway Sheriff's Station Traffic Unit at 858-513-2800.
The investigation remains ongoing, and SanDiegoVille will update this story as additional information becomes available.
Originally published on September 6, 2026.
