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closeFriday, May. 09, 2008
Man under distress crashes car into apartment building
By VICTOR A. PATTON
vpatton@mercedsun-star.com
Photo by George MacDonald
Merced Sun-Star
Jenna Drouin, a regional operations manager with Heritage Management, was at Northwood Village Apartments on Yosemite Avenue when a car left the road and crashed into the complex. Drouin helped extricate one person from the car.s manager with Heritage Management, happened to be at Northwood Village Apartments on Yosemite Avenue when a car left the roadway and crashed into the complex. Drouin helped extricate one of the two occupants of the car, who were transported then to the Community Campus of Mercy Medical Center of Merced for further treatment.
A 74-year-old man suffered a seizure and crashed into an apartment building near the corner of G Street and Yosemite Avenue on Thursday.
The accident happened around noon after the man, driving a gray Crown Victoria eastbound on Yosemite Avenue with his wife in the passenger seat, abruptly swerved the vehicle toward the Northwood Village apartment complex.
The car jumped the curb, barely missed a fire hydrant and grazed two trees before striking a patio wall. The man and his wife, both of whom are Mariposa residents, were transported to Mercy Medical Center Merced's Community Campus, according to Merced Police Department community service officer Jeff Hawks. No one else was injured in the accident, and no one was inside the apartment at the time, Hawks said.
"It could have been much worse, had he hit the tree head-on," Hawks said.
Both their injuries were said to be minor, according to Merced police Lt. Andre Matthews.
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Jenna Drouin, Heritage Management regional operations manager, who manages the property, arrived at the scene minutes after the accident. Drouin said the driver and his wife were both conscious -- although the man appeared to be in a daze and had blood coming from his ears and nose. Drouin helped the woman out of the car after paramedics and police arrived.
"He didn't seem like he was that alert," Drouin said.
Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.
