May 19, 2024
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Truck hits entrance of ambulance bay at Valley West Hospital in Sandwich

Hospital remains open

By Eric Schelkopf
Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital employees discuss the damage in the ambulance bay after a truck too tall for the clearance tried to drive through it Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the hospital in Sandwich. There was visible damage to the ceiling of the bay with insulation a wall material hanging down.

Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital employees discuss the damage in the ambulance bay after a truck too tall for the clearance tried to drive through it Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the hospital in Sandwich. There was visible damage to the ceiling of the bay with insulation and wall material hanging down. (Mark Busch)

No one was injured after a blood drive truck Tuesday morning crashed into the entrance of an ambulance bay at Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital in Sandwich.

The truck was at the hospital for a blood drive. The hospital remains open.

“The truck entered through the back around the ambulance bay and it turns out the truck was bigger than the entrance,” Northwestern Medicine spokesman Chris King said. “So there’s some exterior damage. We’re still trying to determine the extent of the damage.”

The crash has not affected operations at the hospital, although the area where the crash occurred is closed.

“The hospital is open,” King said. “We will reroute ambulances accordingly. We’re still accepting ambulances, we’re still accepting patients. We just want to make sure the area that is damaged is safe and secure.”

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Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital employees inspect the damage in the ambulance bay after a truck too tall for the clearance tried to drive through it Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the hospital in Sandwich. There was visible damage to the ceiling of the bay with insulation a wall material hanging down.

Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital employees inspect the damage in the ambulance bay after a truck too tall for the clearance tried to drive through it Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the hospital in Sandwich. There was visible damage to the ceiling of the bay with insulation and wall material hanging down. (Mark Busch)