PORTLAND, Ore. — Three people are seriously injured after a minivan crashed into an apartment complex in Longview on Thursday morning.
According to the Longview Fire Department, around 11:21 a.m., the minivan ran off the road, hit a pedestrian and rammed into the apartment building, trapping a person on the other side between the car and an inside wall of the building. The building is located in the 1000 block of 7th Avenue.
When the responding fire unit arrived at 11:24 a.m., they found a person unconscious on the lawn outside the van, with the trapped person inside and the driver injured in the van. A Life Flight helicopter was called, along with additional emergency crews.
To remove the woman trapped under "rubble and the vehicle," firefighters used chainsaws to cut a hole through the outside of the building. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital, while the other woman hit on the street and the elderly male driver were transported by ambulance.
Two people, the pedestrian and the person in the apartment, are currently in critical condition. The condition of the driver is unknown at this time.
Investigators believe the driver suffered a medical event and are asking for witnesses to come forward, according to Capt. Branden McNew of the Longview Police Department.
Residents of the apartment building were evacuated, pending inspection of the building's structural stability, Longview Fire Department said. The number of residents affected was not reported.
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