A woman facing an unknown medical emergency drove a van over several mailboxes before crashing into a bank Friday morning, Gainesville Police said.
The woman, who is in her 40s, drove a Chrysler van across three lanes of oncoming traffic before driving onto a sidewalk, over several mailboxes and into a SunTrust bank, located at 5080 W. Newberry Road, GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email. The outside of the bank was damaged, but the car was left in far worse shape, he said.
The driver was taken to the hospital with possibly life-threatening injuries. As of Sunday, the driver’s condition has improved, and she is expected to make a full recovery, Lt. Jaret Weiland said.
Police are still investigating the crash. If the driver did have a medical emergency, then she won’t be cited for the crash, Weiland said.
Tobias said the medical problem is likely what caused her to lose control of the vehicle.
Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to control hazardous engine fluids that were leaking from the car, according to a GFR press release.
An off-duty paramedic was behind the van on West Newberry Road and saw the van driving strangely and crossing lanes of traffic before hitting the mailboxes, Tobias said.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Lewis__Robert.
