The driver is dead and 5 were injured after a vehicle crashed into Texas emergency room. Police say it was not intentional

By Amy Simonson, Jillian Sykes, Raja Razek and Sarah Davis, CNN

(CNN) — A driver died and at least five people were hurt as a vehicle crashed Tuesday evening into an Austin, Texas, medical center emergency room, the facility’s chief medical officer said.

“This investigation is in its early and preliminary stages, however there is no indication at this time that this was an intentional act, nor does it indicate that the driver suffered from a medical episode,” Austin Police Department spokesperson Ariel Crumes said in a Wednesday news conference.

Crumes identified the driver as 57-year-old Michelle Holloway.

Holloway crashed her vehicle into the emergency room’s waiting area, and three adults and two juveniles were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment, Crumes said.

The driver was extricated and given CPR before dying at the scene, officials previously said.

Police did not offer further details on what may have caused the crash and how fast the driver may have been traveling.

St. David’s North Austin Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Peter DeYoung said amid the chaos, hospital staff rallied to help.

When the vehicle first crashed into the lobby, it was still in “Drive,” he said. Three hospital team members “put their life in harm’s way and stopped the car from running and did their best to preserve life for that driver,” DeYoung said Wednesday.

The vehicle hit a “very large aquarium” at the hospital which likely absorbed the impact and helped save lives, the chief medical officer added.

Three hospital members suffered “minor injuries,” DeYoung said.

Stephen Hughes was at the hospital waiting for his wife to come out of surgery when he heard a loud bang, then realized a vehicle had crashed into the building.

“At first I thought it was an explosion,” he told CNN. “Then I heard screaming and saw the smoke coming from the ER entrance.”

People ran through the emergency room lobby as the vehicle’s tires spun with a screeching sound, video of the panicked scene shows. The area was cleared of bystanders, and hospital staff quickly began tending to the injured, Hughes said.

Damage to the building was minor, DeYoung said, but the hospital only took emergency room walk-ins Tuesday night as ambulances were directed to other facilities.

By Wednesday, DeYoung said the hospital had resumed operations and opened to EMS transports as of earlier that morning.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.