Washington woman killed when vehicle hit Neighbor Health Center
A woman was killed when a vehicle rammed through a wall of a Washington Health System building in the city Wednesday afternoon.

Gideon Bradshaw/Observer-Reporter
First responders hold a tarp next to a hole after a vehicle crashed into a building at Neighbor Health Center, 95 Leonard Ave., Washington, at about 12:45 p.m. today.
The driver, Chad Spence, 43, of Weirton, W.Va., and another person were admitted to area hospitals with injuries following the crash, which occurred about 12:30 p.m.
Witnesses who were outside the health network’s outpatient center said a Jeep Liberty came speeding downhill on Sharp Avenue through the intersection with Leonard Avenue.
“A red streak is all I saw, and then it hit the bricks and I saw it was a Jeep Liberty,’ said Michael Connor of Canton Township.
The Washington County coroner’s office said Kimberly Dollard, 57, of Washington, was pronounced dead at 1:23 p.m. in Building 1 of the system’s Neighbor Health Center. Cause and manner of death are pending.
Police are investigating Spence’s statement that he had a doctor’s appointment at the center.
City police Detective Dan Rush said Spence was alert and conscious at Washington Hospital following the wreck.
Dollard was working in the building’s registration office.
Lt. Dan Stanek of city police said an unidentified person believed to be a patient was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
“It could be a medical issue, it could be a mechanical issue, it could be an impairment issue, we just don’t know,” Stanek said. “There’s no belief right now that it was intentional. I only spoke to him briefly and he was injured so I didn’t really get to talk to him very long.”
Connor and his wife, Michelle Phillips, said they were getting ready to leave the WHS campus after getting a prescription filled. The driver barely missed their vehicle.
“There was no horn. No brakes,” Phillips said. “There was nothing.”
The vehicle became airborne near the bottom of the hill and sailed over shrubs next to the building, then rammed through the brick side wall.
A firefighter used a sledgehammer to knock some brick out of the bottom of the hole in the wall before a tow truck pulled the Jeep out almost four hours after the crash.
Building 2 of the campus was evacuated due to a possible gas leak.
WHS issued a statement that read, in part: “We are extremely saddened to state that a member of our Patient Access Department was fatally injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and co-workers of our employee tonight. No other members of our team were injured.”

Nick Kratsas/Observer-Reporter
Tire marks and scrapes are seen on the pavement in front of the corner of Neighbor Health Center after a car crashed into the building Wednesday afternoon.