A car crashed into the emergency room, killing one person and injuring five others

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AUSTIN, Texas – A car crashed into a Texas hospital emergency room Tuesday, killing the driver and injuring five others, including a child with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

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Firefighters said in a nightly news briefing that the vehicle crashed into the emergency room at St. David's North Austin Medical Center at 5:30 p.m. The driver was extricated from the vehicle and received CPR, but died at the scene, authorities said.

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Photos showed a silver sedan with a damaged front end completely sitting in the lobby.

The crash remains under investigation and a cause is not yet known, but the Austin Police Department said it does not appear to have been intentional.

Five people in the ER lobby were injured. One was treated at a hospital, while two adults and two children were taken to other hospitals, authorities said.

Among those transported, one child had serious, life-threatening injuries, and an adult had “severe, potentially life-threatening injuries,” while the other two victims had non-life-threatening injuries, Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Krista Stedman said. .

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Eight patients who were being treated at the hospital were transferred to other facilities, said Dr. Peter DeYoung, the hospital's chief medical officer.

DeYoung said the ER doors were damaged and the aquarium inside was hit, but overall the building is in good shape. No ambulances were admitted, but the ER is still having walk-ins treating patients in a temporary triage area in the emergency bay, he added.

“Hopefully we'll get back together here tonight and see where tomorrow leaves us,” DeYoung said.

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 provides maternal and infant care, other women's health services and many other specialties, including heart and brain surgery and robotic surgery.

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