Pickup Crash Into Sarasota Airport Terminal Causes $250K Damage

SARASOTA, FL — The driver of a pickup truck was hospitalized after crashing through a security fence early Thursday morning and barreling into the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport baggage claim during the busiest travel period of the year, authorities said.

Airport President and CEO Rick Piccolo told Patch that officials have ruled out a terror attack. "We don't know whether he had a medical incident or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Piccolo said.

"At about 2:51 a.m. a white GMC pickup truck smashed through one of our fence lines, went up a perimeter road a short ways and then onto the air carrier ramp at a very high rate of speed, came smashing through a cinder block wall and conveyor belt at the baggage claim area, and then hit a car rental counter, where it stopped," Piccolo said.

He identified the pickup's driver as Juan Gabriel Monsivis, who was taken by the Sarasota County Fire Department to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He was believed to be in a medically induced coma, reports indicated.

Piccolo said no one else was injured in the crash and that the airport is fully operational.

The crash caused an estimated $250,000 in damage to the airport, authorities said. The crash comes at a time when the airport has experienced 21 straight months of increased passenger traffic, with a total of 1,738,935 passengers through November 2019.

"We've now got everything cleaned up," he said. "We're sealing stuff up for the time being, and then we're going to have to do some repairs — a quarter-of-a-million dollars worth of damage —but at least no one else was hurt besides the driver."

The baggage claim is on the ground floor of the airport. It has three baggage belts that are shared by all of the airlines.

"Everything is cleaned up, and we're in operation," Piccolo said.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.