Philadelphia police issue arrest warrant for driver accused of hitting 3 nurses at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

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Philadelphia police say they’ve identified a man who was involved in a hit-and-run outside the emergency department at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center this past weekend. Three hospital nurses and a gunshot wound patient were struck and injured.

Police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for 28-year-old Jaadir Goodwyn, who is accused of hitting health workers while fleeing the area with three other men “at a high rate of speed” after dropping off a fourth man who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

“This was something much more sinister than a hit and run,” said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel. “What happened Saturday was an assault. Those individuals intentionally left the situation and intentionally saw those nurses in their way and hit them as they were exiting.”

Goodwyn faces several counts of aggravated assault and other charges, including some “extremely serious” first-degree felonies that are equivalent to charges issued to people who commit shooting crimes, said Assistant District Attorney Danielle Burkavage.

Penn Medicine officials and staff say this is the latest incident and example of violence against health care workers as they were doing their jobs.

“Unfortunately, violence against health care workers is on the rise, and I think that there are other organizations that deal with this also on a daily basis,” said Nicole Hoke, chief nursing officer at Penn Presbyterian. “It’s just a stark reminder of the horrible impact it can have.”

Police say the incident at the hospital is related to a shooting near the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue that occurred around 4 a.m. Saturday morning. Officials say video evidence shows that a 2023 silver Jeep Cherokee drove from that area to the local emergency department shortly after.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said at least three men parked in the ambulance bay driveway exited the car and went inside the hospital “and begged and pleaded for help” for a fourth man in the backseat with gunshot wounds.

As three nurses ran out to care for the victim and wait for a gurney, Vanore said, “At some point, we now believe that Penn Police were alerted that a gunshot victim was here and someone was en route here with lights and sirens to investigate.”

Vanore said video surveillance shows the three men jumped back into the Jeep “and recklessly and intentionally left this parking lot at a high rate of speed and drove right into the three nurses, their own shooting victim associate that they brought here, and continued at a high rate of speed away from this area.”

Additional hospital staff responded to the injured health workers and gunshot victim. Two nurses were treated for various injuries Saturday and have been discharged from the hospital. The gunshot wound patient also continues to be treated for his injuries.

A third nurse suffered significant facial injuries and remains hospitalized in critical condition, said Mayor Cherelle Parker, who addressed health care workers during a press conference outside the hospital Tuesday.

“I see you and I hear you and we know what valuable services you provide to us on a daily basis, and it is our job to ensure that you are protected and safe while you do your jobs,” Parker said. “We are going to end this culture of lawlessness that has been plaguing our city and it won’t stand.”

Penn Presbyterian is providing hospital staff trauma counseling and support resources as they continue to process the events of Saturday and the harm to their colleagues, Hoke said. She called the response of staff that day on the scene heroic.

“Our staff were caring for the gunshot wound victim, the current ED patients and then their own, all next to each other, and having to really put thoughts and feelings aside and provide the care that was needed in that exact moment,” Hoke said.

Messages of support coming in from other Penn Medicine hospitals, other health organizations in the Philadelphia region and health workers from all over the country “has been really heartwarming in our time of need,” Hoke said.

As a result of Saturday’s incident, James Ballinghoff, chief nurse executive of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said the organization has changed its protocols. Health workers will no longer “extricate a patient from a car” without the car being turned off first and the driver stepping out.

“Our security will handle all of that prior to any nurses, physicians or technicians stepping in to help that patient, unfortunately,” Ballinghoff said.

Philadelphia’s Office of the District Attorney, with police, said it continues to investigate the shooting on Belmont Avenue that preceded the incident at Penn Presbyterian.