Employee recounts moment angry customer drove car into Sandy dealership
Dec 10, 2024, 4:45 PM | Updated: 6:43 pm
SANDY — A Sandy car dealership says they are very lucky no one was killed, critically injured, or even hurt after an upset customer drove his car right through the front doors.
It happened on Monday afternoon just after 4 o’clock at the Tim Dahle Mazda dealership at 10785 S. Auto Mall Drive. Police said Michael Murray, 35, became very upset about a used “as is” car he had purchased that morning at the Sandy dealership. He reportedly wanted a full refund immediately.
“Just a slam and bam. It sounded like this big TV monitor was crashing down,” the dealership’s platform manager, Tyler Slade said. “It’s terribly frightening and the emotional trauma of it, of what could have been. Thank God no one was hurt.”
Slade said Murray came in saying he had $4,000 and wanted to buy a car. Slade said they had an older Subaru Outback wagon that came in on a trade that they told him would work.
No question, the Sandy dealership was selling car “as is”
“We even make the document hot pink so they truly understand this is a vehicle that is, ‘as is.’ It hasn’t been inspected. But if it fits your budget we will let you take it,” Slade said.
“Several hours later he came in very emotionally charged and upset and wanted to have his money back immediately. My finance manager tried to calm him down, ‘Let’s figure this out we have plenty of solutions, we can give you your money back we can find you another car talk about the repairs that might be needed.”
Slade said they couldn’t immediately give him his $4,000 dollars back. They had put it in a safe and didn’t have immediate access. Slade said that didn’t sit well with Murray.
“He said if you don’t give me my money back right now I’m going to drive this car right through the front door. ‘You don’t need to do that’, tried to calm him down again but there was no talking him off the ledge per se,” said Slade.
“The finance manager was like hey I can’t calm this guy down. He’s heading out to the car. He’s threatening to do this. We rallied everybody in the dealership to clear the area .”
Slade said Murray then parked his car outside the front doors and revved his engine before smashing through the doors.
As fate would have it, the front desk was empty
The car took out a front greeting desk where someone was usually sitting. Slade said luckily the employee was not working that day and no one was near that desk.
“We feel very fortunate and blessed she wasn’t here,” Slade said.
After smashing his car through the front doors, Slade said Murray stood out front waiting for police to arrive and arrest him.
He was handcuffed and taken to jail where he faces felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
“Almost 30 years [in this business] I’ve never seen anything like this,” Slade said. “Very concerned for this person and the emotional state he was in.”
