Car goes airborne, smashes into vehicles and building at Fort Worth middle school

A car smashed into several other cars and ran into the side of a Fort Worth middle school building on Monday afternoon.

The driver was going south on Prospect Avenue where the street split into two lanes. The car possibly hit a curb and went airborne, flipped and crashed into the parking lot at JP Elder Middle School, said Officer Bradley Perez, a Fort Worth police spokesman. The car then hit the side of a resource center building on the school campus.

Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Mike Drivdahl said the man driving the car was taken to a hospital, but the man’s condition was not immediately known.

No one else was injured in the crash.

Jeff Ingram, a Fort Worth ISD employee, said the driver, who he described as an older man, crashed into at least six cars. The lid to a dumpster flew through the air and hit another four cars.

After crashing into the cars, the man’s vehicle smashed into the side of the family resource center building at 709 NW 21st St. Staff, but no students, were inside the building at the time.

When emergency responders arrived, the driver was outside of the car, Perez said. Police did not know if he crawled out or was ejected from the car. He had serious injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Zuri Benitez’s car was one of those damaged in the crash. It was her first day working at the family resource building. She was inside the building when the car hit the side of it and heard what sounded like an explosion, she said.

“It’s just really difficult to see your car in shambles,” she said.

“We’re all grateful no one else got hurt,” Benitez said. “We just hope the guy is OK.”

The accident was reported about 12:30 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., footage of the wreck’s aftermath that was posted on Facebook showed multiple smashed cars, a crowd of people and several Fort Worth police officers in the parking lot. Fort Worth Fire Department crews surrounded a car and appeared to be trying to pry the door open.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.