ATLANTA (AP) — The lawyer for a woman who was injured when an SUV crashed into the lobby of a major Atlanta hospital’s emergency room said Tuesday that the hospital should have had better protections in place.
The Mercedes SUV driven by a 75-year-old woman hit another vehicle in front of the entrance to the emergency room and then accelerated into the building on June 30, according to police. One woman was killed and four other people were injured, police said.
A police report says the primary factor in the crash was that the driver lost control. The driver was found to be responsible for the wreck, but no charges were filed, according to the report, which also notes the driver wasn’t injured and blood tests came back negative for drugs or alcohol.
Kailyn Bailey, 29, had accompanied a friend to the hospital and was waiting outside the emergency room and ran inside when she saw an SUV heading toward her, she told reporters Tuesday. The SUV crashed through the building’s entrance and hit her right side, she said. She suffered fractures to her pelvis and tailbone, her attorney Jane Lamberti said.
“A hospital has a duty to maintain a secure area for everyone who approaches the hospital,” Lamberti said, adding that it’s “reasonably foreseeable” that around an emergency room there could be a driver who is confused or ill or who has a medical emergency that causes the driver to lose control of the vehicle.