One person remains in critical condition Monday, two days after a Margate Parks and Recreation employee barreled a city truck into a GameStop and injured himself and five others, officials said.
The city employee driving the truck and another driver got into a minor crash Saturday at the entrance to the Lakewood Shopping Center, which is located in the 5300 block of West Atlantic Boulevard, Lt. Michael Druzbik, a spokesperson for Margate Police, said in an email Monday afternoon.
An officer arrived at the moment the truck driver continued north through the parking lot and crashed through the GameStop in the mall, Druzbik said. A total of six people, including the city employee, were injured. Most of the injured were near the business’s entrance or inside, he said.
A business next door to the GameStop in the plaza posted CCTV video on Facebook Monday that showed the impact. The truck was seen in the video speeding through the parking lot, seemingly not slowing before hitting the store.
Several bystanders were walking on the sidewalk in front of the business as the truck was heading toward the storefront, the video showed. One man on the sidewalk appeared to narrowly miss being struck by the driver as he jumped out of the truck’s path just before it went up on the sidewalk.
After the truck slammed through the front door, seemingly at a high-rate of speed, sending debris into the air and onto the sidewalk, a police cruiser was seen arriving with the lights flashing. The officer ran into the store within seconds of the impact, the video showed.
Three of the six people injured were taken to Broward Health North, and three were taken to HCA Florida Northwest Hospital, Druzbik said.
Sue Zeiler, a spokesperson for Broward Health North, said in an email Monday afternoon that one of the three patients is in critical condition, one is in fair condition and the third is in good condition.
Druzbik said the three people taken to HCA Florida Northwest Hospital had minor injuries, and they have since been released.
Margate City Manager Cale Curtis said in an email Monday afternoon that the employee is among those who have been released from the hospital. The employee is being put on administrative leave.
“Our primary focus remains on the well-being of the injured individuals, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families during this difficult time,” Curtis’s office said in a prepared statement Sunday. “We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by this incident. The City of Margate takes matters of public safety seriously, and we are working closely with law enforcement to gather all necessary information to determine the cause of the accident.”
The police department’s Traffic Homicide Investigations Unit is investigating, Druzbik said.
Earlier this month, a driver crashed into a restaurant in a Lauderhill shopping plaza. The driver had minor injuries, the South Florida Sun Sentinel previously reported.
In August, 20 people were injured after a driver who was trying to park at a restaurant in a Plantation shopping center crashed into the business on a busy Friday night.
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