Car wash raises money to help family of fallen Salt River police officer

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (FOX 10) - It's a busy day at the Cobblestone Auto Spa located near Hayden and Frank Lloyd Wright in Scottsdale, as customers dig into their pockets, not to pay for a car wash, but to make a difference.

"I wrote a check because my husband is [a] retired police officer and family sticks together," one person said.

Cobblestone Auto Spa teamed up with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office memorial fund.

"Valley wide, we see officers and representatives every day that come through our location," said Amanda Applegate of Cobblestone Auto Spa.

Bright orange buckets with Salt River Police Officer Clayton Townsend's photo on them held donations for the fallen officer's family.

"He was a very hard worker. He worked as many shifts as he could, especially for the extra duty because he had a new child that came into this world 10 months ago and he was trying to support his family," Sgt. John Wyatt said.

Officer Townsend was killed Tuesday night during a traffic stop on the Loop 101. DPS says a distracted driver who was texting hit and killed him with his car.

Those who donated say this type of tragedy hits too close to home.

"It's something everyone is doing, unfortunately," one person said "You see people swerving here and there. We all need to stop because it's dangerous, There's going to be more accidents if we keep going."

One-hundred percent of the proceeds will be given to the officer's family.