Car Hits Medical Clinic, Hurts 13
UPDATED: 5:11 pm CST February 3,
2006
LOS ANGELES -- Authorities in south Los Angeles say a car racing at speeds up to 90 mph crashed into a health clinic Friday morning, injuring 13 people.
Authorities said the clinic was filled with patients. A doctor who works in a neighboring clinic says she saw onewoman whose legs had been severed and a second woman who'd lost one leg, as well as a man bleeding heavily from a head wound.
After the accident, three people were listed in critical condition. The other seven had minor or non-life-threatening injuries.
A doctor who works in a clinic across the street said she saw two women whose legs had been severed and a man bleeding profusely from the head.
Police say a black Nissan sedan was racing erratically with a white Lincoln Town Car when the two collided, sending the Nissan hurtling into the clinic. The Lincoln drove off. The Nissan driver is in custody.
A worker at the clinic, Ana Rodriguez, was in the lab getting patients ready to see the doctor when the incident happened.
"I heard a screech and a big boom. I then came out and saw a lot of people screaming and crying. The doctor told me to take care of a man who had his forehead opened like a laceration," said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez described the scene as chaotic and sad.
"People were saying, 'Help us,' and were trying to tear the walls down because there were people trapped. They dragged one lady out and her two legs were missing. All you saw were bones sticking out and blood all over. Another lady was pulled out that just had one leg amputated," she said.
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