BRADFORD, Pa. — A Bradford Regional Medical Center employee was injured Friday morning when he was struck by a vehicle that backed over the sidewalk and into a stone and brick sign for the Hamsher House.
Police Chief Mike Ward said that at 9:44 a.m. a woman was attempting to park her vehicle in the lot near the North Bennett Street entrance to BRMC. The driver shifted into reverse and hit the gas instead of the brake, and her vehicle shot backwards. It struck two parked vehicles and then went onto the sidewalk and over the BRMC employee.
The vehicle was stopped by the Hamsher House sign, and did not hit the hospital building itself, Ward said.
The vehicle, Ward said, ran over the legs and lower torso of the pedestrian on the sidewalk, who was not identified. As of 2 p.m. Friday, he was being treated for his injuries at BRMC. Janene Coldren, spokesperson for BRMC, said Friday afternoon that the man was flown via air ambulance to UPMC Hamot in Erie.
Ward said the pedestrian’s injuries were not life-threatening.
A woman was attempting to get in on the passenger side of one of the parked vehicles, and when the accident occurred, her vehicle was shoved into her, Ward explained. She was evaluated, but refused medical treatment.
The driver of the vehicle, who also was not identified, was shaken up, but refused medical treatment.
Ward said the accident is still under investigation, but appeared to be caused by driver error.
“We see this more often than not in these types of situations, when a person realizes they hit the gas instead of the brake, they panic and push the pedal harder,” the chief explained.
One week ago, the same type of accident took place on Main Street in Bradford when an SUV backed into a vacant storefront. No one was injured in that incident.
