U-Haul crashes into building hit over the weekend in Omaha’s Benson neighborhood

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Emergency personnel were at the scene of a crash Wednesday morning involving a U-Haul that hit a vacant building in the Benson area — the same building hit by a minivan over the weekend.

Omaha Police told First Alert 6 at the scene that the U-Haul hit two cars, then hit the building at 58th and NW Radial Highway, formerly home to Benson Shoe Repair, but now home to Elegant Mane salon. The crash into the Elegant Mane salon was reported at about 9 a.m.

OPD issued a citation to the U-Haul driver. No injuries were reported.

It’s the second such crash at the location in just three days — and First Alert 6 has covered other traffic incidents on NW Radial Highway, including one crash at 50th Street in May, with neighbors saying then that people driving too fast have caused multiple crashes in the area over the years resulting in property damage, personal injury and at least one death.

The minivan crash happened at about 6 a.m. Sunday when the vehicle drove through the other side of the building, according to police. Police said the driver was cited. No one was seriously hurt.

At that time, the owner of the salon told First Alert 6 that crash had her worried about her side of the building.

Barber Maurice Lee said he came down Wednesday morning after he heard about that crash — and saw the U-Haul driver when he arrived.

“It looked like he was just kind of shooken up a little bit. He had a bandage on his wrist so it looked minor,” Lee told First Alert 6.

At the scene, Lee said authorities told him it wasn’t yet safe to go inside, so he wasn’t sure when the owner might be able to check on the business.

First Alert 6 caught up with her, and she expressed her aggravation with the situation.

“It’s very frustrating and now our stuff is just in there. They cannot even get it out because it is unsafe,” said business owner Kionna Eston. “...This is my first business and I would still be in business if this didn’t happen.”

Lee told First Alert 6 that he, too, was definitely concerned.

“I know we had a situation on Sunday where the old shoe repair got hit first, and now it pretty much took out the whole corner, and that’s going to hurt us probably. Well… it is going to hurt us," he said.

“Things happen for a reason, and maybe it is just time for me to get a new location,” she said.

The Benson Neighborhood Association issued a statement Wednesday calling on the city to provide better traffic safety measures in the area.

“The second time this building has been struck by a vehicle in just one week underscores the urgent need for the city to implement meaningful traffic safety measures along the Northwest Radial Corridor.

These crashes are part of a larger pattern of speeding, serious collisions, and pedestrian fatalities that have put people, businesses, and property at risk for years. Our neighbors have repeatedly raised concerns about the volume of accidents.

We are asking the city to make this corridor a priority by accelerating measures to reduce speeding and improve safety for Benson residents."

Austin Rowser with Omaha Public Works said the city is wrapping up a year-long corridor safety study that includes NW Radial Highway — a study the Nebraska Department of Transportation is also involved in since it includes a state highway.

Once the study is complete, Rowser said, the city will evaluate projects to improve safety along the corridor and pursue NDOT funding to implement them.

“I think people just need to slow down,” Kent Hartel said. “They may put up some signs. For me, I thought driving over here — I thought they maybe need some corner signs or slowdown signs. That would do it. This corner is not sized right for the speed, I guess.”

But some are still frustrated, mostly because news about traffic incidents in the area come as no surprise to those who live and work in the area.

“It just underscores how dangerous this intersection is and the entire Northwest Radial Corridor,” said Lisa Sock, president of the Benson Neighborhood.

The neighborhood group is also concerned about the fact that there’s no timeline yet for when changes might happen. While the city has a tentative plan, the time to act is now, she said.

“This is the No. 1 issue that our neighbors bring up — not just neighbors, but businesses," Sock said.

This is a developing story. Stay with First Alert 6 for updates.

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