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Man critically injured after car smashes into St John of God Murdoch, forcing emergency department shut

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Tegwen BescobyThe West Australian
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A man has been left critically injured after a vehicle crashed into a hospital building, forcing the emergency department to shut its doors.
Camera IconA man has been left critically injured after a vehicle crashed into a hospital building, forcing the emergency department to shut its doors. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian

A man has been left critically injured after a vehicle crashed into a hospital building, forcing the emergency department to shut its doors.

Police confirmed a grey Nissan Tilda sedan was travelling near the emergency department of St John of God Murdoch when it collided with a pedestrian.

The vehicle then crashed into the building, prompting the hospital to close the department.

WA Police said a 73-year-old pedestrian was treated at the hospital before being rushed to Royal Perth Hospital with critical injuries.

The driver of the Nissan, an 83-year-old male, received treatment at the scene for minor injuries.

Police on scene.
Camera IconPolice on scene. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian

St John of God WA confirmed that its emergency department was closed, and people are urged to visit the neighbouring hospital, Fiona Stanley, for emergencies.

“Fire and Emergency and WA Police are onsite and supporting with the management of the incident,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“All other hospital services continue to operate as normal.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to safely restore services as soon as possible.

“We will continue to provide updates to the community via our website and social media channels.”

The emergency department was expected to reopen around 7pm.

St John of God Murdoch has been forced to shut its emergency department after a vehicle crashed into the building. 
Camera IconSt John of God Murdoch has been forced to shut its emergency department after a vehicle crashed into the building.  Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian

A witness to the incident, who only identified himself as Doug, told The West Australian he had been exiting the building when he saw the vehicle driving erratically in the carpark.

“As I’m approaching my wife’s car, I hear this screeching, and it comes in through the emergency entry of St John of God, and so I thought I’ll just stay where I am,” he said.

“The driver has gone past and is driving on the foot path . . . they side swiped a car and three humans jumped out of the way, they were really lucky.

A car has crashed into a side wall of the St John of God emergency department in Murdoch.
Camera IconA car has crashed into a side wall of the St John of God emergency department in Murdoch. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The West Australian

“It looked like the driver made a wrong turn — instead of turning left to get out of the hospital, he turned right which saw them go through a short cul-de-sac in a garden bed and hit the wall.”

Major crash investigators are investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers either online or via phone at 1800 333 000.

Witnesses with dashcam or mobile phone footage of the crash can upload it to investigators here.

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