Provo police investigating two separate crashes that caused significant damage
May 30, 2024, 7:40 PM | Updated: May 31, 2024, 8:24 pm
PROVO — Provo police are investigating two separate crashes that caused significant damage Thursday morning.
The first took place just after 4:30 a.m. Police said a 28-year-old man was extricated from an SUV after crashing into a car dealership. He was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Surveillance footage obtained by KSL TV shows the car going south on State Street near 1720 North at a high rate of speed, hitting the curb, and launching off two cars on the corner of the lot.
The video then shows the car flip upside down and crash into another car, which stops the car from damaging the dealership building.
“It was really only … four vehicles that were damaged, three are a complete write-off,” said David Ingalls, operations manager of West Auto Sales. “We estimate the damage at probably over $80,000.”
It took employees several hours to clean up the debris in the lot. The dealership was able to open for business Thursday morning.
Ingalls said there have been many crashes at the intersection where the lot is located but never on the lot itself.
The second crash took place several hours later, around 10 a.m. at the intersection of 900 East and 200 North. That crash, also caught on surveillance footage, showed a truck drive into a duplex.
Hamish Reeves was inside of the duplex at the time of the crash.
“It was just such a blur,” he said.
Reeves said he was sitting on the couch doing homework when the truck crashed and stopped a few feet away from him. “It came in at an angle, it just went straight forward in front of me.”
The truck smashed into the front wall of his apartment and stopped inside the other apartment. Reeves said that apartment was vacant, with new tenants expected to move in in just a few days.
Reeves did injure his ankle after he was hit with debris but was otherwise fine.
Provo police said the 61-year-old driver was conscious at the time of the accident but was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries.
Both men said they’re grateful both crashes did not end up worse.
“No one died that’s what’s important,” Reeves said.
