GARDEN CITY, Idaho — A car crash at a Garden City dealership left multiple vehicles damaged and caused thousands of dollars in losses along Chinden Boulevard.
Cleanup was still underway Monday at Advantage Auto Sales, where tow trucks removed damaged vehicles from the front of the lot following the early morning crash.
WATCH | Multiple cars totaled after crash at Garden City dealership—
Garden City Police say the collision happened just before 5 a.m. Sunday, when a white Ram 1500 pickup drove through the dealership, hitting several parked vehicles and a light pole.
At least seven vehicles were damaged. The driver was taken to a hospital with injuries. No other injuries were reported. Police cited the driver for misdemeanor inattentive driving.
“It’s a big negative impact. It’s a disruptor to our business. I mean, we’re just a local independent dealership,” said Alejandro Montalvan, general manager of Advantage Auto Sales.
Montalvan said the damage followed a straight path along the front of the lot.
“My understanding is the driver was coming from eastbound and fell asleep behind the wheel and sideswiped right here and drove all the way into those, and there’s no skid marks,” he said.
Several of the vehicles took a direct hit and are likely totaled.
“It’s a complete loss, I think, amongst all seven vehicles,” Montalvan said.
He estimates the damage to the dealership’s inventory exceeds $100,000 and says replacing the vehicles will be difficult.
“It’s really hard… when we go to the auctions, there’s probably 200, 300 dealers there trying to buy cars,” he said.
Montalvan said he initially thought the report of the crash was a joke.
“I’m like, April Fool’s already happened… are you trying to pull a prank on me?” he said.
Now, he says the focus is on cleanup and recovery as the dealership works with insurance companies to assess the full extent of the damage.
“It’s just trying to coast through it… not overstress… something that we’ll be able to clean up and hopefully recover from it,” Montalvan said.
