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February 15, 2024At least 1 dead, 5 injured after vehicle drives into emergency room in Austin, Texas
The vehicle struck the north entrance of the emergency room at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center shortly after 5:30 p.m., Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services said in a Facebook post. The crash did not appear to be intentional, the Austin Police Department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The driver died at the scene after being extricated from the vehicle, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said at a news conference. Medics attempted to perform CPR on the driver, said Thayer Smith, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department.
It was unclear if the crash caused the person’s death, Austin Police Lt. Carey Chaudoir told the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network. An investigation is ongoing.
Five people who were in the emergency room lobby were injured, said Dr. Peter DeYoung, chief medical officer of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center. One of them is being treated at St. David’s, while four others, including two children, were taken to other hospitals.
Child in critical condition
One of the children suffered critical, life-threatening injuries, and one adult has serious, potentially life-threatening injuries. The other child and adult did not have life-threatening injuries.
Eight other people who were patients at the hospital will be taken to other hospitals, Luckritz said.
The building was structurally sound, and there were no impacts to operations outside of the emergency room, DeYoung said. The ER is currently closed to ambulances and EMS but was still taking walk-ins who would be treated at a makeshift triage area at the ambulance bay.
Austin-Travis County EMS initially reported that at least 10 people were injured. The Austin Fire Department advised drivers to avoid the area.
Hospital visitors directed to avoid ER
Danielle Ketchens was visiting her mother on the third floor of the hospital Tuesday evening when the vehicle struck the ER. An alarm went off and a nurse remarked that it was a fire alarm, “like it was nothing,” Ketchens said.
“But she heard something in her earpiece and she just took off, and she’s like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll be right back,'” Ketchens added. Later, nurses directed visitors to leave through the hospital’s south entrance, to avoid the scene at the ER.
St. David’s North Austin Medical Center has a 24-hour emergency department. It is described on its website as a 441-bed acute care facility that handles maternity and newborn care, other women’s health services, and many other specialties, including heart and brain surgeries and robotic surgery.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press;
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas emergency room car crash leaves 1 dead and 5 others injured
