Evansville: Van plows through truck stop, narrowly missing lone customer

The only person inside the Hat Six Travel Center in Evansville, Wyoming, escaped serious injury after a white van crashed through the front entrance early Sunday morning. Roger Meinerts, an Iowa trucker, was standing at the counter receiving change when the vehicle smashed into the building. He described freezing in place before hearing three loud popping sounds, which he initially mistook for gunfire. He ran to the opposite side of the store and took cover behind shelving as the driver accelerated again, pushing the van further inside.

The vehicle entered through the diesel pump area and exited through the gas pump side, according to Meinerts. The van eventually became wedged against the far wall. Police officers rushed into the store shouting for customers to get down and kneel. The driver had exited the vehicle and re-entered the building on foot, placing him approximately 20 feet from Meinerts at one point. Officers quickly located the suspect, handcuffed him, and sat him on the floor while he spoke frantically to the officers.

Tyler Berlinger, a local pickup driver, first reported the van around 3 a.m. He said the vehicle tailgated him and forced him over a curb near Poison Spider Road and Robertson Road. After the van ran a red light at Robertson Road and CY Avenue, Berlinger called nonemergency dispatch. A Natrona County sheriff's deputy later activated lights and sirens near the Honda dealership parking lot. Berlinger did not witness the crash but recognized the wrecked van at Hat Six the next morning.

Hat Six owner Tiffany Gamble confirmed the crash occurred at 3:40 a.m. She stated that the van missed the building's structural elements, which she attributed to luck. Gamble noted that the staff was shaken but worked to clear glass and damaged products. The facility reopened less than 12 hours after the incident. Outside contractors installed temporary doors, while employees handled the interior cleanup. Gamble said the van was a 14-passenger model, a vehicle type rarely seen causing this level of damage in the travel center industry.

Meinerts recorded video of the aftermath, showing wet tire tracks crossing the floor and the suspect on the ground. The driver complained about shoulder pain and mentioned drugs and the interstate in incoherent sentences. Police officers were seen applying pressure to the suspect's back during the arrest. The Evansville Police Department did not provide a statement by the time the story was filed. Gamble emphasized that while the property damage was extensive, the absence of injuries was the primary relief for the team.

The incident marks the first time a van has penetrated the interior of the Hat Six facility. Gamble contacted a colleague in the industry to discuss the event, who expressed disbelief that a 14-passenger van had traversed the entire building. Meinerts said his hands were still shaking as he documented the scene. He walked back to his original spot at the counter to observe the flattened area where he had stood seconds before the impact. The store returned to normal operations the following morning.