Sierra 1500

Make
GMC
Segment
Sports Car

A 40-year-old man from Florida stands accused of crashing his pickup through the main terminal building at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. According to Florida Highway Patrol, Juan Monsivis managed to crash a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 truck through a chain-link fence on the airport's boundary before racing down a utility road and slamming full-speed through the cinder-block wall of the terminal. From there, he managed to crash through luggage conveyor belts, ending up next to a car rental counter, staffed by two employees. Amazingly, the only person hurt was the pickup truck driver who was not wearing a seatbelt.

According to the Herald Tribune, airport president and CEO Rick Piccolo says the incident happened at 2:51 am, and the last flight had arrived 20 minutes earlier, so the terminal was mostly clear. Piccolo also estimates the damage to be around the tune of $250,000 or more. Despite so few passengers being around, the airport was still staffed.

As you would expect from a truck driving into an airport, multiple agencies are investigating the incident. Monsivis has an extensive criminal history made up mainly of traffic offenses and was driving with a canceled license.

According to the Herald Tribune, Monsivis's driving offenses include multiple DUIs, driving with his license either suspended or canceled, as well as unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm, battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, hit-and-run with property damage, and possession of synthetic marijuana.

Why he drove into the airport at full speed is still unknown, although authorities suspect either he was under the influence of a substance or had a medical issue. However, New College police department witnessed him on the freeway in a "reckless manner" earlier, so chances are he's lucky that manslaughter hasn't had to be added to the list of charges he's facing.