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La comunidad se une para apoyar a un empleado lesionado durante un incidente en Hole in the Wall

The Austin music community came together to support Troy Pruitt, a long-time door attendant at the local West Campus bar Hole in the Wall, after he was seriously injured when hit by a car as he was checking IDs outside the bar.

During a showcase on the evening of March 13, a two-car collision caused one of the cars to veer off the road and into the venue, hitting Pruitt, according to KVUE. 

“We ran outside, (and) I called EMS,” said Austin Leos, the general manager of Hole in the Wall. “It (was) chaos. Troy was pinned by the car. The owner, Will Tanner, and our bartender, James Clark, and some randoms from the street had to lift the car to swing it out to get Troy unpinned. … He was in a lot of pain and screaming out.”

Pruitt, who also works as a video game developer, has been a long-time employee, Leos said.

“He’s always been really loyal and adamant at the door,” Leos said. “He really cares about what he does here, and he does a great job.”

Pruitt has undergone three surgeries and faces months of recovery and physical therapy, Leos said. The accident comes a few years after Pruitt was injured in another car accident. However, Leos said Pruitt’s resiliency will help him get through the long recovery process.

“How that would happen to someone like that twice … as daunting and perplexing as that is, the answer is Troy’s that resilient,” Leos said. “He’s more resilient than that.” 

The accident occurred during South by Southwest, one of the busiest times of the year for venues like Hole in the Wall. 

“It’s just a long process to happen in the middle of the busiest week of the year,” Leos said. “We’ve been like, ‘Well, let’s take this day by day.’”

Support for Pruitt continued at a crawfish boil-turned-benefit hosted at the bar on Sunday where local acts took to the stage to raise money for Pruitt’s continued recovery.

“We do that crawfish boil at the end of every South by Southwest,” said William Grover, Hole in the Wall’s doorman and barback. “This year we had all of the staff acts play, which made it a little bit more community-based. I love that we all love that place. … We all come together and do all we can to help one another.”

Leos said only the exterior door and front wall of the bar were damaged during the incident, though much of the damage to the door was a result of trying to free Pruitt from his position pinned by the car. 

A GoFundMe for Pruitt is still accepting donations to aid in his recovery process. Their goal is $25,000, and they have currently raised $21,398 as of publication.