Car Hits Kentucky Derby Museum, Injures 11

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A car swerved out of control and struck the Kentucky Derby Museum on Saturday, injuring 11 people and delaying the first race at Churchill Downs by about 45 minutes.

The vehicle sideswiped three parked cars in a lot and struck two guard stanchions before crashing through the left front window of the Derby Museum, said Emergency Medical Services spokesman Brad Learn.

The museum is part of the famed racetrack.

Seven pedestrians were injured in the parking lot adjacent to the museum, along with two people inside the museum’s gift shop, authorities said. The driver and a female passenger also suffered injuries, they said.

Steve Grunston, a visitor from New York, had just finished watching the museum’s slide show of Kentucky Derby history and highlights when the accident occurred at about 12:45 p.m. EDT.

“Had the film run five more minutes it would have been a terrible tragedy,” he said.

Nine of the victims were transported to hospitals, and two were treated at Churchill Downs, authorities said. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

The driver, Francis Secor, 76, of Louisville, was in serious condition at Humana Hospital-University of Louisville. His wife, Eleanor, 72, was treated at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Hospital and released.

Police spokesman Carl Yates said charges were pending against the driver and that police would investigate whether alcohol was involved.