Explosion in Herriman Causes Damage, Injuries, and Evacuations

HERRIMAN, Utah — A late-night explosion caused by a car crashing into a building has left local business owners and residents in shock. The incident occurred shortly after the Jimmy John's restaurant at 13400 South and 5200 West had closed for the night.

Debbie Merrill, the owner of the Jimmy John’s, recalled the moment she received the shocking news. “Oh yeah, it was a wild phone call. The store was on fire. A car had crashed into the building,” she said.

Nearby residents felt the force of the explosion. Aaron Stevens, who lives close to the crash site, described how he and his family were jolted from sleep. “I heard, I think, the initial accident… I thought it was like a kitchen fire that had gotten out of control,” he said.

Stevens and his family went outside to observe the firefighters, thinking it would be a good teaching moment for their five-year-old. “Then the building blew up! Which kind of freaked all of us out,” he recalled.

Merrill expressed gratitude that her three employees managed to escape safely and that no customers were inside the restaurant at the time of the incident. “Those brave employees… managed to get everybody out of there, just in time,” she said.

Initially, Stevens believed the fire was under control when he was caught off-guard by a second explosion. “The firefighters got the fire on the outside suppressed really quickly… then you know, it blows sky high,” he said.

While some residents evacuated, one police officer advised Stevens to move his family to safety. They spent several hours in a hotel before the area was cleared. “It was wild! It’s surreal even seeing it now,” he said.

In the aftermath, businesses including Domino’s Pizza and SuperCuts also sustained damage. Stevens, who frequented these businesses with his family, expressed concern for the displaced employees. “I hope everybody landed on their feet, jobwise,” he added.

To assist those affected, two nearby Jimmy John’s locations are looking to hire the 19 employees impacted by the Herriman closure. “We’re working to get everybody as close to their normal hours as we can,” Merrill noted.

Jimmy John’s is also expanding its UberEats delivery service to cover Herriman during the interim. “Hopefully, we will continue to take care of our customers in that area until we can rebuild,” Merrill said.

Reflecting on the incident, she added, “If that explosion had gone anywhere but up, it could have been really bad for everybody. This could have been so much worse, so I’m really just grateful.”