A truck crashed through the airport, and most damage is fixed. But a mystery remains
A week after a truck crashed at high speed through a baggage handling conveyor and the back side of the terminal of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, most of the damage has been repaired.
Rick Piccolo, president and CEO of the airport, initially feared that the damage from the crash in the early morning hours of Dec. 19 could cost as much as $1 million to repair.
But Thursday, as he showed a reporter around the crash site, he said structural damage was not as great as it could have been.
Piccolo used his emergency powers as airport chief executive to have Magnum Builders, which was already doing work at the airport, repair a gaping hole in the wall, as well as damage to floors and ceilings. In-house staff was taking care of the the conveyor belt and other repairs, including fabricating parts.
“I am very proud of these guys,” Piccolo said.
On the back side of the terminal. a bollard — or protective post — showed signs of being sideswiped by the truck, which may have slightly altered the truck’s trajectory through the wall toward the far side of the terminal along the rental car counter.
Video from several cameras shows a 2015 GMC Sierra truck smashing a hole through the wall, cinder blocks exploding forward, and then coming to rest against the counter of National Rental Car. The bollard might have made a difference in where the truck ended up, Piccolo said.
The driver of the truck, Juan Monsivis, 40, was admitted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital after the crash, the Florida Highway Patrol previously reported.
Thursday, Kim Savage, public relations manager for the hospital, said in a text that Monsivis is not listed in the hospital directory and that the family may have asked for privacy.
Lt. Greg Bueno of the Florida Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, said Thursday he has no information to report.
“No additional updates or charges at this time. Remains under investigation,” Bueno said in an email.
Airport video of the crash shows a National Rental Car employee taking a drink from a cup and ducking just before the truck hit the counter. Miraculously, Monsivis was the only person injured in the terminal crash.
It is believed that the rental car employee has returned to work, but a company representative declined to comment Thursday. An email to National’s corporate office was not immediately answered.
The crash through the terminal wall destroyed a mural promoting tourism in the Bradenton area and Manatee County beaches.
Elliott Falcione, executive director at the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the mural was due for an update.
“We had already started talking about refreshing that mural,” Falcione said. “Our creative team is already working on ideas.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 1:51 PM.
