Vehicle strikes bystanders at auto auction in Crestwood

An out-of-control sport utility vehicle plowed into a crowd at a suburban auto auction today, injuring 11 bystanders.

Three of the victims were in critical condition with injuries that included a crushed chest and legs, Crestwood Fire Chief Jon Bruce said. Two firefighters also were hurt while helping victims, he said.

"It was pandemonium," as rescue workers made their way through several hundred people who were leaving or helping the injured at the Tri-State Auto Auction, Bruce said.

"People were screaming, moaning, laying on the ground," auction shopper Tom Schroeder said. "Employees were running around telling people not to move."

The incident occurred shortly before 11:45 a.m., when an employee driving a Range Rover into the auction building lost control of the vehicle. It suddenly sped up, hit a group of bystanders and struck a minivan before going through a doorway and hitting another group of people.

Bruce said it was not yet clear what caused the employee to lose control.

A woman who answered the phone at the auction house early this afternoon said the business was "not giving out any information right now." The company's Web site shows a large, open auction site where bidders can walk among vehicles for sale.

Crews from 15 other cities responded to the call, Bruce said. Victims were treated and taken to local hospitals.

One firefighter's injury was exposure "to large amounts of blood," considered hazardous because of the possibility of infection, he said. The other firefighter suffered a back injury while lifting a patient.