SALISBURY, Md.- The night of Sept. 14, 2011, was a terrifying one for a woman in Salisbury. After rushing her husband to the emergency room at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, she found herself in a hospital bed. The woman was mugged inside a PRMC parking garage. Hospital officials said they want to make sure something like this never happens again.
PRMC is stepping up security as part of an effort to try to limit access and keep people who don't belong there out.
The attached surveillance video shows a glimpse into one woman's nightmare. It was just before midnight on Sept. 14, when the victim dropped her husband off at the ER, then went to park her car in a parking garage. That is when a man lurking in the garage jumped out, grabbed the victim's purse and hit her in the head.
Twenty-two-year-old Anthony Dacre was later arrested and is now serving 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to the crime.
"We have a very open campus all along East Carroll Street, as well as up onto Waverly and by installing this safety measure, what we'll do is we'll really create more of a barrier along East Carroll, to prevent just traversing into the property and add better security," explained Tom Anderson, executive director of facilities & properties at PRMC.
Hospital officials said they take safety on their campus seriously and they are addressing concerns.
One of the biggest concerns is how easy it is to access the parking garage from the ground level, since the walls are low.
"In the openings along Carroll and Waverly, we're going to be installing a steel grate fencing," said Anderson. "We'll screen in this way. It'll be the full height of the opening and secured to the four concrete ledges."
People who WBOC spoke with say they are happy PRMC is taking action.
"It would make me feel more secure about coming in," noted Faith Lauer of Federalsburg. "I mean, even when I come in and I park now, I'm still like, am I parked in a good spot or not?"
Anderson said the drop-down gates are already in place and the grate fencing will be installed next week.
(Photo: WBOC)
