Driver detained after vehicle crashes into Detroit airport terminal
By Alexandra Skores, CNN
(CNN) — The driver of a vehicle which crashed into a terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Friday morning may have been experiencing a mental health crisis, an airport official said.
“He made the statement upon being apprehended that he was there to meet with Tom Cruise, and to save his dad,” Tadarial Sturdivant, the airport authority’s senior vice president of emergency and support services and operations, said at a news conference.
No serious injuries were reported and police are still investigating the incident, according to Sturdivant.
The suspect, a 67-year-old man, was not carrying any weapons and “drove very slowly,” around the barricades and through the airport doors, Sturdivant said.
CNN has reached out to the airport’s police department for comment.
Michigan state Rep. Jaime Greene shared photos her husband took of the scene, including one showing law enforcement vehicles outside the terminal.
One witness who was inside the terminal during the incident recounted her experience to CNN affiliate WXYZ.
“It was a very fearful moment. You had nothing but children and you know people standing everywhere, everybody running in different directions. When I heard the crash coming through the doors, the only thing you could think about is, get out of the way,” Sarah Smith told WXYZ.
Airport operations returned to normal around 11:30 a.m. local time, according to Sturdivant.
This is the second time in recent months a vehicle has crashed into a terminal at DTW.
In January, a car crashed into a check-in area and hit a ticket counter in a different terminal at the same airport. That driver was taken into custody and six people were treated by emergency medical services.
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CNN’s Nic F. Anderson contributed to this report.
