The Bloomington Police Department released more information about Sunday’s crash that left a U-Haul sitting inside Evil by the Needle. BPD Capt. Ryan Pedigo sent the following to the Bloomingtonian Monday:
“On 5/2 at approximately 4:40 p.m., officers responded to the intersection of Hillside Drive and S Walnut Street for a report of a crash in which a U-Haul truck had driven into a building. Upon arrival, officers located the U-Haul completely inside the business, Evil by the Needle, and it was apparent that the truck had been southbound on Walnut Street and had veered off the road and driven through the north wall of the building. Officers made entry into the building to assist in removing any individuals inside, as the structural integrity of the building was unknown. Officers learned that two women had been inside the business at the time of the crash and both had injuries from the incident, but mostly consisted of cuts and bleeding and none were believed to be life-threatening. Officers assisted one of the women out of the building and the other had already walked outside on her own. The driver of the U-Haul, a 77 year-old Bloomington man, was trapped inside the truck, as the driver’s door could not be opened due to the large amount of debris piled up next to the truck. The man was able to be removed from the truck and was assisted out of the building to be treated by ambulance personnel. The driver reported that he was not injured from the crash and said he had fallen asleep while driving southbound on Walnut Street, causing the truck to veer off the road and into the building. Officers did not observe any signs of impairment from the driver. It is believed that one of the females inside the business had lost consciousness prior to the arrival of officers and medical personnel, so a blood sample was collected at the hospital from the driver per the State statute involving drivers of vehicles involved in a serious bodily injury crash.”
