U-Haul truck crashed into 3 vehicles before hitting building in Benson

The male driver of the U-Haul truck told the responding police officer he was suffering from his first seizure in more than a year, which triggered the multi-vehicle and building collisions around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

According to the report, the U-Haul driver was driving east in the left lane along Northwest Radial Highway and approaching the intersection at 58th and Maple Streets when he rear-ended a Tesla Model Y SUV. The Tesla’s driver told the responding police officer he saw the U-Haul truck coming toward him at high speed and attempted to get into a left-turn lane to avoid the collision. The Tesla’s driver could not fully get into the lane before the U-Haul truck struck the Tesla on the right rear corner of the vehicle.

The U-Haul truck continued and struck a Hyundai Kona SUV which was stopped behind a Toyota Highlander SUV at a red light. The U-Haul truck rear-ended the Kona, which caused the Kona to rear-end the Highlander. The Highlander was pushed into the intersection.

The Kona’s driver told police the U-Haul truck went past his vehicle and struck the Highlander again. The U-Haul then veered off the road and crashed into the building that houses Eyebrow Microblading Specialists and the closed Benson Shoe Repair. The crash knocked down the building’s wall facing the highway, and the truck became embedded in the building’s interior.

The U-Haul truck’s driver reported a minor cut to the hand because of the crash. The driver told police he had no recollection of what happened during the crash. The other three drivers did not report any injuries.

Police cited the U-Haul truck driver for failing to maintain his lane and striking a fixed object.

The building sustained an estimated $250,000 in damage from the incident.

Wednesday’s crash marked the second crash into the same building in three days.

Shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday, police were called to the location of the former shoe repair business after a vehicle hit the building. A man who spoke with police told an officer he was traveling east along Maple Street and approached Northwest Radial Highway.

As the man approached the highway, according to a crash report filed by the police officer, he accidentally accelerated and hit the center median. The man told the officer he then overcorrected, jumping the curb and hitting the building. A witness corroborated the man’s account to police.

The building sustained an estimated $20,000 in damage after Sunday's crash. The man who hit the former shoe shop was cited for failing to maintain his lane and colliding with a fixed object.

U-Haul truck knocks down wall in Omaha's Benson neighborhood