Driver in Texas Hospital Crash IDed

UPDATE Feb 15, 2024 11:08 AM CST

A large aquarium in the lobby of a Texas emergency room likely saved lives when it absorbed the impact of a car that smashed through the entrance, a hospital official says. The crash Tuesday evening at St. David's North Austin Medical Center killed the driver and injured five other people, including two children. "The vehicle had direct impact to a very large aquarium that really, I believe, saved lives," says Dr. Peter DeYoung, the hospital's chief medical officer. The crash is still being investigated, but there's no indication that it was intentional or that the driver had a medical episode right before it happened, says police spokeswoman Ariel Crumes. Police identified the driver as Michelle Holloway, 57, the AP reports. She was pulled from the car and received CPR but died in the ER.

Feb 14, 2024 1:30 AM CST

A car crashed into a Texas hospital's emergency room Tuesday, killing the driver and injuring five other people, including a child with life-threatening injuries, authorities said. The car smashed into the lobby of the ER at St. David's North Austin Medical Center shortly after 5:30pm, fire officials said at a nighttime news briefing. The driver was pulled from the car and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation but died in the ER, authorities said. The crash was under investigation and there was no immediate word on the cause, but the Austin Police Department said it appeared to be unintentional, the AP reports. Five other people in the ER lobby were injured. One was treated at the hospital, while two adults and two children were taken to other hospitals, authorities said.

Of those transported, one child had critical life-threatening injuries and an adult had "serious, potentially life-threatening injuries," while the other two victims had non-life-threatening injuries, said Capt. Christa Stedman of Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. Eight patients who already were undergoing treatment at the hospital were being moved to other facilities, said Dr. Peter DeYoung, chief medical officer for the hospital. DeYoung said the ER doors were damaged and an aquarium inside was struck, but overall the building was in good condition. No ambulances were being accepted, although the ER was still taking walk-ins who would be treated at a makeshift triage area at the ambulance bay, he added.

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