STERLING – At about 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, a silver, midsize Ford drove into the south wing wall of CGH Medical Center.
This area includes the hospital’s community room – the Ryberg Auditorium. The hospital’s second floor above the Ryberg was most recently occupied by the Observation Unit. This unit had recently been moved, so no patients were in the area at this time.
Following the crash, the driver exited the vehicle and was apprehended two blocks away from the hospital by Sterling police. His condition is not known.
“We are very lucky that none of our patients, staff members or community members were hurt during this incident,” said Dr. Paul Steinke, CGH President and CEO.
The Ryberg Auditorium is used regularly each day for community meetings, hospital classes, department meetings, and more. “This situation could have been so much worse. I thank everyone that was on duty at the time of the incident. Also, we thank our entire CGH Plant Operations department who was called in, had the area cleared by 8 am and began reconstructing the wall.”
There are no structural issues found based on the location of the crash.
