Car smashes through dental clinic waiting room

TAMPA -- An Odessa woman who accidentally drove through the waiting area of a dental clinic was having a medical issue when she lost control of her car, according to Hillsborough Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Wendy Keane, 56, drove her 2006 Ford sport utility vehicle through Coastal Dental, 14815 N Dale Mabry Highway, at 9:17 a.m.

Keane was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said that other than Keane, someone who was at the scene at the time of the crash was injured.

Witnesses said the woman driving the car had a bandage with a cotton ball on her arm, and they wondered whether she had just left the nearby Quest Diagnostic office. The car came straight through the front doors of the dental office, where 13 people were inside.

Office manager Annie Burton was checking out a patient at the front desk.

"It was like a movie. I looked up and all I saw was a blur," she said. "And then there was glass everywhere."

No one inside the dental office was hurt. A passerby injured his hand when he tried to break open the car window to turn off the engine, witnesses said. Carter said he refused medical attention.

Ten fire rescue personnel were on the scene, assessing damage and treating the patients, spokesman Bruce Delk said just before 10 a.m.

Damage to the building was estimated at $25,000, Carter said.

Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

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