A Car Accident In Front of Hole in the Wall Injured an Employee Monday Night

The sidewalk in front of Hole in the Wall following the collision on March 13 (Photo by Daniel Cavazos)

A two car collision at the intersection of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton sent one vehicle careening up the sidewalk in front of the Hole in the Wall Monday night, pinning the venue’s door attendant under the vehicle.

Hole in the Wall owner Will Tanner says he and a large group of passersby lifted the car off the worker, Troy Pruitt. According to HITW GM Austin Leos, Pruitt is currently in the hospital with multiple broken bones in his legs. Previously on staff at HITW and former sister business Stay Gold, Pruitt has recently been moonlighting for the venue during busy times.

“The stool that he was sitting on is totally mangled,” says Tanner, who was also hit and thrown up onto the car’s hood. Tanner declined medical assistance on the scene, but went to the hospital today to receive X-rays, which showed no major injuries of his own.

The accident took place around 11:30pm, when the campus area bar was very full for South by Southwest adjacent programming. At the time of the wreck, a line of people outside the historic venue luckily extended northbound, and thus none of the people in it were hit. Staff cleared out the venue after the accident. The Hole’s front door was damaged, but the club has already reopened for concerts today.

The bar’s week of festival-related programming will continue as planned.

“I am grateful for the first responders and I’m grateful for the kindness of strangers,” Tanner says of the people who helped him lift the car so Pruitt could be pulled out. “It reminded me that people are helpful and good.”

Tanner says it took less than a minute for first responders to arrive after the accident and begin assisting. Today, Pruitt provided an update to friends in a comment on Facebook. He wrote: “Van took the unprotected turn, kid going north on Guad going way too fast and they collided. Car bounced off the van and pinned me to the wall. I’m pretty rough and waiting for my second and third surgery but still around, y’all"

Long-running HITW GM Leos says staff is still very “raw” from witnessing the incident. After visiting Pruitt in the hospital earlier today, he says his heart goes out to him because it’s the second time in the last five years Pruitt has been seriously injured by an errant vehicle. Leos says there will be a forthcoming benefit event to cover Pruitt’s medical expenses, with details coming soon. There is also a GoFundMe for Pruitt here.