Newly Released Video Footage Shows Moment of St. David's North Austin Medical Center Crash

In our blog, we have been following the story involving a drunk driver who crashed through St. David’s North Austin Medical Center on February 13, 2024, resulting in their death and the severe injuries of multiple other people. Our attorneys from Howry Breen & Herman, LLP are representing an entire family that was hurt in the accident; we have filed a lawsuit against St. David’s HealthCare for failing to install traffic safety barriers or bollards at the entrance to the clinic, which safety experts have since said would have likely prevented anyone from being seriously injured. In this most recent update, new footage has been obtained that shows the moment of the crash.

A full six months after the fatal accident, video footage from St. David’s Austin Medical Center was released and publicized, including in the ongoing KXAN Investigates series, “Preventing Disaster,” which you can view by clicking here. (Viewer discretion is advised.) The Bernard family – who we are representing – has voiced approval of the footage’s release because it shows without any room for interpretation what happened that day.

In the footage, a white Acura sedan accelerates toward the front of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, shows no signs of slowing or braking, and bursts through the front doors before slamming into the aquarium and the Bernard family. It doesn’t come to a full stop until it hits the wall by the registration desk on the farther side of the room. The high velocity of the vehicle, estimated to be around 47 miles per hour, with no apparent attempt to brake coincides with the toxicology reports of the late driver, which stated she had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of approximately 3.5 times the 0.08 limit for drivers.

Howry Breen & Herman, LLP Uses the Footage in the Lawsuit

Attorney Sean Breen was once again interviewed by KXAN Investigates to discuss the newly obtained surveillance footage of the crash. “Why they waited until afterwards is a question only St. David’s will be able to answer. And we are going to get that answer,” he shared with the newsgroup. When asked if properly installed bollards would have prevented the accident, he explained, “It is a 100% engineering probability that bollards would have stopped this car. And nobody would have been hurt.”

With the footage in hand, Attorney Breen and his team will be better positioned to argue how the placement of a few bollards could have stopped the worst parts of the disaster. Had bollards been in place, the driver would not have been able to accelerate as much as she had, so if the car had hit bollards in front of the door, the force of the crash would have been significantly reduced, likely sparing her own life. Not to mention that the vehicle would not have been able to enter the medical center and strike the Bernard family.

The lawsuit our legal team has brought against St. David’s HealthCare argues that the medical group knew about the benefits of bollards in front of medical center doors because several of its other medical properties have them. The defendant has argued that the North Austin location did not have bollards to allow wheelchair and gurney access to the building. However, bollards – like those that have since been installed at that location – can easily be arranged to allow wheelchairs and gurneys to roll between them while also stopping out-of-control passenger vehicles.

Our firm’s goal is to use the footage to convince the defendant to offer a fair settlement to the Bernard family for their terrible injuries, many of which are still causing them pain and hardships six months after the crash. We are also encouraged by the response from several Austin City Councilmembers who are now pushing for bollards to be installed in front of more medical centers and storefronts throughout the city.

If you want to know more about this ongoing story, you can read the latest KXAN Investigatesarticle featuring Attorney Breen by clicking here. You should also visit our blog frequently as we add more updates and our client’s case progresses. If you need help with an injury claim of your own, please call (512) 430-4844 or use an online contact form at any time. Thank you.