Three nurses were injured in a hit-and-run car accident at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center early Saturday morning.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, the incident occurred at 4:22 a.m. on Saturday after a man driving a silver Jeep Cherokee dropped off a shooting victim in the ambulance bay at Penn Presbyterian. As he fled the scene, he struck all three nurses and the victim. As of Sunday morning, one of the nurses remained in critical condition.
“In a workplace where teams are devoted to caring for others, this incident is devastating to our staff and is a reminder of the tragic, far-reaching toll of gun violence on entire communities. Violence against healthcare workers harms us all, and is a corrosive, unacceptable threat which our staff must cope with on a daily basis,” a Penn Medicine spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“Our heroic staff continued working to save the gunshot victim and care for all our other patients even as their own colleagues were suffering and being treated,” the spokesperson added, noting that Penn Med is providing resources to the injured nurses and their families.
Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System Kevin Mahoney wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that "the nurses hurt today have our support, and we’re here for all staff who feel the pain that ripples out from such senseless violence. We stand as a community, stronger together."
Radio clips from the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed that officers from the Penn Police Department assisted in the response and relayed information to Philadelphia Police about the incident.
"Public Safety personnel are working to provide additional support to our life-saving Penn Medicine colleagues as needed," Penn's Division of Public Safety wrote in a statement to the DP. "Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time."
According to a statement from the Philadelphia Police, all three nurses injured in the incident are male. The driver of the car was a male in his early 20s and the shooting victim was injured on the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue before being taken to the hospital. The DP could not confirm if the driver was involved in the shooting.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents City Council's third district — which includes University City — wrote in a statement that she is “praying that all three nurses make a full and speedy recovery, most especially the one who remains in critical condition.”
“As West Philly's only adult Level 1 Trauma Center, the nurses and staff at Penn Presbyterian are on the front lines of the gun violence crisis,” Gauthier wrote. “Every day they come face-to-face with gruesome pain and suffering to care for us during the most traumatic moments of our lives. It is unfathomable to me that someone would drive their car into our neighbors charged with healing.”
Gauthier added that she has spoken to Penn Med to offer her support. The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating the incident.
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