A tragic incident unfolded at a Texas hospital on Tuesday evening when a car crashed into the lobby, resulting in the death of the driver and injuries to five others, including a child who is now in critical condition. The vehicle plowed into St. David’s North Austin Medical Center around 5:38 p.m. local time, ending up inside the emergency room lobby, according to local authorities.
The driver was pulled from the wreckage by the fire department and received CPR from both hospital staff and emergency medical services, but was pronounced dead at the scene, stated Austin Fire Chief Thayer Smith in a press briefing outside the hospital. Preliminary investigations by Austin police suggest that the crash was not intentional.
The crash resulted in injuries to five individuals, including two adults and two children who were subsequently transported to other hospitals for treatment. The fifth injured person received treatment at the scene. One of the children was taken to Dell Children’s Hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, while an adult was transported to Round Rock Medical Center with serious injuries that could potentially be life-threatening.
The other adult and child who were transported sustained non-life-threatening injuries, as per the Austin Travis County EMS officials. The incident disrupted the hospital’s emergency room services for the evening. Eight patients who were being treated in St. David’s ER at the time of the crash were transferred to other medical facilities for treatment while officials assessed the scene and the hospital regrouped.
The emergency department was closed to patients arriving by ambulance and EMS due to the crash, but walk-ins were still accepted, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter DeYoung. He added that an alternative entrance for triage was set up. “Obviously this is a big deal… We’re hoping to regroup here and see where the morning leaves us,” DeYoung said.
Fortunately, the building was not severely damaged and “appears to be in good condition.” The damage was largely confined to the building’s exterior doors and an aquarium in the lobby was also shattered. DeYoung confirmed that no departments other than the ER have been affected. The cause of the crash is still under investigation and no further details have been released.