SARASOTA, Fla — The Thursday before Christmas is a busy one for airports across the country.
Fortunately, there weren't any travelers at 3 a.m. Thursday at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport when a pick-up truck plowed through the airport and crashed into the rental car counter.
Police determined Juan Monsivis, 40, was speeding down US 41, left the road, ended up on airport property and crashed through the chain-link fence.
"We were very fortunate that the last flight had already been in and no one was hurt," FHP Trooper Ken Watson said.
Officers say Monsivis continued to travel in the direction of the main terminal building and crashed through it. Police say his truck took out a baggage carousel before crashing into a car rental counter.
Montivis suffered serious injuries and was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Watson said he might face charges once they have his medical records.
"He does have a criminal record, however, we’re not going to make any assumptions. We’re going to thoroughly investigate and find out exactly what caused this to happen," Watson said.
Montivis has multiple traffic related offenses against him including driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
Two employees behind the rental car counter at the time of the crash were not hurt.
Airport CEO Fred Piccolo said the airport is coming up on what could be one of their busiest weeks ever.
On average, SRQ sees 5,000 outbound and 5,000 inbound travelers every day. Come Sunday, the airport will host roughly 11,000 outbound and inbound travelers.
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport has had an especially busy year with traveler traffic up 42 percent. In November traffic was up 52 percent and December is expected to be even busier.
Piccolo hasn't adjusted any security measures at the airport but he and his team will continue to evaluate the needs over the next for days.
The airport will be down a baggage carousel but Piccolo expects it to be up and running by late next week.
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