A car crashed into a hospital lobby in Texas, US, Tuesday evening, killing the driver and injuring five people, including a child fighting for their life, authorities said.
The sedan crashed into St. David’s North Austin Medical Center at around 5:38 p.m. local time and ended up inside the lobby of the emergency room, as shown in photos obtained by KXAN.
“The driver was extricated from the vehicle by the fire department and received CPR from both hospital staffers and EMS. However, despite the efforts, the driver was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene,” Austin Fire Chief Thayer Smith said during a press conference outside the hospital.
One child was rushed to Dell Children’s Hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, while one adult was transported to Round Rock Medical Center with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries, authorities reported.
The other adult and child who were transported suffered non-life-threatening injuries, stated Austin-Travis County EMS officials.
The wreck also disrupted the hospital’s emergency room services for the night.
“Eight people who were being treated inside St. David’s ER at the time of the crash were being transferred to other medical facilities for treatment while officials evaluated the scene. This was done to allow the hospital to ”better regroup,” stated the facility’s chief medical officer.”
The emergency department was closed to patients brought via ambulance and EMS due to the crash, but walk-ins were still being allowed, stated Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter DeYoung at the press conference.
“Obviously, this is a big deal… We’re hoping to regroup here and see where the morning leaves us,” DeYoung said, emphasizing the significance of the situation. He added that they had set up an alternative entrance for triage purposes.