1 dead, 5 hurt after driver hit pedestrians at Georgetown hospital

A driver hit pedestrians in a parking garage at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in D.C. on Thursday, killing one woman and wounding five other people, authorities say.

Jewel Regina Bazilio-Bellegarde, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was killed. She was 68.

The victims were waiting for their cars near a valet station when they were hit by an SUV, police said.

Hospital workers and an off-duty D.C. police officer rushed to help the victims.

“The emergency room personnel apparently rushed right out with stretchers, and they quickly brought patients right in to the E.R. and began emergency care,” DC Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo told reporters on the scene.

First responders were called to the hospital in the 3800 block of Reservoir Road at about 12:45 p.m.

According to the initial investigation, the driver of a 2011 Audi Q5 tried to make a three-point turn in the garage at about 12:40 p.m. The Audi accelerated and was headed toward a wall.

“The driver of the Audi attempted to avoid the wall and drove toward a valet station area,” police said in a brief statement.

The Audi hit the wall, continued forward and hit six people. Five women and a man were hurt, and Bazilio-Bellegarde was later pronounced dead. The other victims had injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

Two of the victims appeared to be in cardiac arrest and were given CPR, according to people familiar with the fire and EMS response.

Two patients had been treated and released as of late afternoon Thursday, the hospital said.

Preliminarily, crash investigators believe what happened was a terrible accident.

The driver of the car that hit people was treated for minor injuries. It wasn’t immediately clear if she could face charges.

Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.