1 dead, 5 injured after car drives through Austin, TX hospital

A car barreled through a Texas hospital Tuesday evening, killing the driver and injuring five people in the lobby — including a child who is now 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, photos obtained by KXAN show.

The driver was extricated from the vehicle by the fire department and given CPR by both hospital staffers and EMS, but was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, Austin Fire Chief Thayer Smith said during a press conference outside the hospital.

Austin police said that the collision did not appear to be intentional based on preliminary information.

Five people were injured in the crash — including two adults and two children who were transported to other hospitals for treatment. The fifth was treated at the scene.

One child was rushed to Dell Children’s Hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries and one adult was sent to Round Rock Medical Center with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries.

The other adult and child who were transported suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to Austin Travis County EMS officials.

The wreck also uphended 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 moved to other medical facilities for treatment while officials evaluated the scene — and to allow the hospital to “better regroup,” the facility’s chief medical officer said.

The emergency department was closed to patients brought via ambulance and EMS due to the crash but was still allowing walk-ins, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter DeYoung said 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, adding that they set up an alternative entrance for triage.

Fortunately the building was not severely damaged and “appears to be in good condition.”

The damage was largely isolated to the building exterior doors and an aquarium that was inside the lobby was also smashed. DeYoung said that no departments other than the ER have been impacted.

Officials are continuing to investigate the crash and have not released any details on what may have caused it.