SUV strikes workers, hits hotel

WILMINGTON, Del. - July 22, 2008 (WPVI) -- The driver left a parking garage and reportedly suffered a medical condition; his SUV struck workers and then hit the side of the Sheraton Suites hotel in Wilmington, Delaware.

Five very fortunate workers are no doubt hugging their relatives a little tighter tonight...they came close to serious injury or death after an SUV slammed into a wall. That SUV was driven by a Woodstown, New Jersey man who apparently suffered from a fatal medical condition.

" You never know when your time comes," said parking attendant Joe Hilsee.

He saw the driver of the SUV just moments before the vehicle left the garage across the street from the Sheraton Suites hotel.

The accelerating SUV slammed into the wall of the hotel just inches away from where five workers were sitting on a ledge, taking a break. Hilsee suspects the driver never had control of the wheel.

"His face was white as a ghost. There was definitely something wrong," he said.

Paramedics attended to the clearly stunned workers, who are employed by a Wilmington flooring company hired by the hotel. The general manager of the Sheraton was in a room directly above where the freak accident occurred.

"It was quite a jolt. The whole room shook and we ran out of the room to see what happened," said Darrin Frowery.

First responders tried to save the 53-year old driver at the scene but CPR efforts failed to revive the man, who was declared dead at the Wilmington hospital. His name is being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The workers meanwhile were taken to the Christiana hospital with non life threatening injuries.

Repairs to the hotel began immediately. The column struck in the crash is decorative in nature so no structural damage was done.

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