A 96-YEAR-OLD motorist was injured when his car crashed at the sliding doors entrance to Newton Abbot Hospital yesterday afternoon.
Witnesses said it was ‘extremely lucky’ the out-of-control Fiat did not collide with people entering or leaving the building at the West Golds Road site just after 2pm.
Several motorcycles were damaged in the wayward car’s path before it smashed into a stone wall immediately outside the busy entrance.
Police, fire and ambulance teams attended the incident.
Staff could not get out of the blocked main entrance to tend to the dazed driver. Instead they used a side entrance fire exit to reach him.
One witness at the scene said: ‘It was lucky there were not more casualties because the hospital entrance is always very busy with people coming and going.’
Firefighters from the town used small tools to make the front-end-damaged Fiat safe.
It’s understood the elderly driver suffered chest injuries in the accident.
He was initially treated by hospital staff before being transferred to Torbay Hospital for further check-ups.