OMAHA, Nebraska – At first glance, one might think that this mangled mess had sent some people to the hospital, but the driver of a flipped-over SUV is walking around and speaking with the police.
Joe Baker told First Alert 6 that he caused all of this by taking his eyes off the road while driving down 10th Street.
“I was reaching for a lighter, I hit the curb, and I hit that thing, that light pole I think it is, then that tree,” Baker told the media.
The car then flipped over, crashing into two parked cars.
“I was upside down, and I got on my haunches, and I was looking around and all the wind bags were blown, so I couldn’t really see to get out,” Baker told me.
Baker left a visible trail that led from 10th Street to the downtown Marriott parking lot.
Kevin Williams owns the black BMW, one of two damaged vehicles parked in the lot.
“The Marriott front desk called and asked if I was in the building, and that my car was in a wreck,” Williams recalled! “I said, ‘Did you guys steal it?’” because you guys valeted it’, they said ‘No, somebody ran into it’, so I had no idea it was this bad, but I’m glad the person in charge is not hurt.”
Williams described the situation as ironic, explaining to First Alert 6 that he parked his car where he did to be safe and keep it safe on New Year’s Eve.
“I valet it so that I wouldn’t have to drive and be responsible and wake up to this, I guess it’s happy new year,” Williams told CNN.
Williams cited current events to put the incident in context.
“Things happen, we see what happened in New Orleans so, unfortunately bad things happen,” he said. “Fortunately, no one was hurt, so hopefully it will be fixed and you can move on. “It could have been worse.”
The driver of the vehicle that caused the damage was ticketed and released from the scene.