Police said three nurses at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia were injured, including one critically, when they were run over by a driver who was dropping off a gunshot victim early Saturday. File Photo by StockSnap/Pixabay
Oct. 12 (UPI) — Three nurses were injured, including one critically, after being struck by a driver who brought a gunshot victim to the emergency room of a Philadelphia hospital, police said Saturday.
The nurses were run over around 4 a.m. EDT Saturday outside of the emergency department at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia Police Lt. Shaun Butts told reporters.
He said a person driving a silver Jeep Cherokee pulled into the hospital’s driveway to drop off a 28-year-old man who had been injured by gunfire. After the nurses came out to help the victim, the driver sped off, striking them as he fled.
Hospital officials said one of the nurses, identified as a 36-year-old man, was in critical condition with facial injuries and internal bleeding. Two others were also treated for injuries.
“In a workplace where teams are devoted to caring for others, this incident is devastating to our staff, and is a reminder of the tragic, far-reaching toll of gun violence on entire communities,” Penn Presbyterian said in a statement issued to media outlets. “Violence against healthcare workers harms us all, and is a corrosive, unacceptable threat which our staff must cope with on a daily basis.
“Our heroic staff continued working to save the gunshot victim and care for all our other patients even as their own colleagues were suffering and being treated. We are providing support resources for them and the injured nurses’ families, and fully cooperating with the Philadelphia Police as they investigate,” the statement read.
Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier said she is “horrorstruck” by the incident.
“I am praying that all three nurses make a full and speedy recovery, most especially the one who remains in critical condition,” she said in a Facebook post. “I also commend the emergency room team for continuing to care for their patients while dealing with this traumatic incident.”
Gauthier noted Penn Presbyterian is the only Level 1 trauma center in West Philadelphia and hailed its staff as working “on the front lines of the gun violence crisis.
“Every day they come face-to-face with gruesome pain and suffering to care for us during the most traumatic moments of our lives. It is unfathomable to me that someone would drive their car into our neighbors charged with healing.”
