SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: The medical examiner identified the woman killed in the early morning Medical Center crash as 21-year-old Destiny Alexis Herrera.
(Previously)
Speed may have played a role in a deadly crash early Friday in the Medical Center, San Antonio police said.
A woman in her 20s somehow left the roadway in the 4100 block of Medical Drive and plowed into a medical office building, police said.
Officers discovered the crash scene around 3:30 a.m., when they responded to a call about a ringing burglar alarm there.
"The officer showed up, found a vehicle inside the building," said Sgt. Mark Molter, of the San Antonio Police Department. "Due to the damage, we weren't able to see if anybody was inside the vehicle."
With help from firefighters, officers broke through the debris and found the woman inside her wrecked car, already dead of her injuries.
"It's a single-vehicle accident. Possibly speed was a factor as she left the roadway," Molter said.
Because of the damage to the building, police were worried about it collapsing.
"They told me that the building had been compromised. I still can't get to work. I'm trying to get ahold of all my patients," said Mary Ellen Harlan, who owns a weight loss clinic next door.
Harlan drove up to the scene several hours after the crash happened and was stunned by the damage done to the building and the car.
The force of the impact tore the roof off the vehicle and crushed most of its body.
Pieces of the building's concrete structure were left embedded in the front of the car.
"That's just heartbreaking to know somebody lost their life right there," said Harlan, fighting back tears.
Harlan said although the images were unsettling, they are not unusual. The sign outside her office is bent from another crash that happened recently.
"Probably in the last six months, there have been three bad accidents right through here," she said.
Harlan said in many of the previous cases, drivers were speeding.
Police are investigating whether that was the situation in this case.
Harlan said if drivers would slow down, it could save property and lives.