According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 40-year-old Juan Monsivis has been accused of crashing his 2015 GMC Sierra truck through the airport’s baggage carousel area and into the National Car Rental counter. Security footage of the incident shows two employees ducking behind the car rental counter as they notice the vehicle moving at full speed in their direction.
Police had seen Monsivis traveling on US Highway 41 in a “reckless manner” and tried to catch up to him but were unsuccessful in doing so. Moments later, the driver crashed through the terminal’s wall after speeding down a utility road.
Monsivis is currently being treated at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital for serious injuries, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The two employees who were behind the car rental counter are unscathed as a result of the incident.
“It’s amazing no one was hurt,” Florida Highway Trooper Kenn Watson is quoted as saying.
The terminal was mostly empty at the time of the incident because the airport’s final flight had already landed about 20 minutes before the truck crashed into the building, airport CEO Rick Piccolo told news outlets. One of the airport’s three baggage conveyor belts was damaged and will cost at least $250,000 to be repaired.
Monsivis has a history of traffic offenses, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He has previously been charged with multiple DUIs and driving with a suspended or canceled license. Additionally, Monsivis has also previously been arrested for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm, assaulting a law enforcement officer, violently resisting arrest, possessing synthetic marijuana and committing a hit-and-run with property damage.
