70-year-old driver crashes into Walgreens, causes fire after severing gas line

A 70-year-old Durham man was hospitalized after his vehicle crashed into a Walgreens store on Wednesday, severing a gas line and sparking a fire near Miami Boulevard in Durham.

The man slammed his car into an external wall, just beneath the Walgreens sign. His vehicle severed the gas line leading into the Walgreens, causing a fire. Photos from the scene show a Black sedan smashed against the wall of the Walgreens, with severe fire damage all the way up the external wall, even burning the sign.

Adrienne Sutton, the man's sister, said that his niece was also in the car but was unharmed.

She says her family has something special to be thankful for this year, that her brother and niece are alive.

“I’m just thankful that my brother’s OK," Sutton said. "I’m just thankful he’s OK.”

It took 35 Durham firefighters to put out the fire. The Walgreens on Holloway Street was left with fire, smoke and water damage after a car crashed into the building, severing a gas line and starting the blaze.

The incident had portions of Holloway Street and Miami Boulevard closed off for several hours.

According to Sutton, it was her brother Norman Blake driving the car. She came to the scene to find his hat and glasses.

However, there is conflicting information from family members regarding whether another person was in the vehicle at the time of the incident and whether the driver experienced a blackout.

One witness posted online, "I can't believe I just witnessed that. Lord please let that man be ok! I'm so glad that man jumped out his car and pulled him out in time. The whole side of Walgreens is on fire."

Sutton says Blake is a retired Durham police officer.

"He had a medical emergency," said Sutton. "He's a retired police officer from Durham, 30 years. And the police showed up and gave him a ticket for 'failure to appear, failure to reduce speed' for a medical emergency."

Sutton says she and her family are blessed to still have Blake with them.

"Well, he’s doing fine. He is at Duke Hospital," Sutton said. "They are running tests on him to make sure he is OK. I spoke to him; he is alert."