UPDATE: Crash leaves car atop jersey barrier on West Seattle Bridge

crashcar

9:20 PM: Thanks for the tips, and thanks to BW for the photo- a crash has left a car atop the jersey barrier on the West Seattle Bridge near the Luna Park curve.

9:25 PM: No word on injuries so far, but scanner reports indicate multiple parts of the jersey barrier have been pushed into the westbound lanes.

9:40 PM: SDOT says this is blocking the eastbound bridge completely near its westbound end – right now the live video on the “West Seattle Bridge @ Delridge view” (find link from lower right of that page) is verifying that. One westbound lane is getting by (this is west of the Admiral exit, so you can get off there and avoid it entirely). Looks like a tow truck has arrived.

10:36 PM: The eastbound side has reopened at the crash scene on the curve over Avalon. Looks like one lane each way.

27 Replies to "UPDATE: Crash leaves car atop jersey barrier on West Seattle Bridge"

  • newnative July 27, 2016 (9:43 pm)

    What is the Luna Park curve on the bridge?

    • chemist July 27, 2016 (11:27 pm)

      I think it’s North of the Walking on Logs pull-out area that you would know if you only travel the high bridge.

  • mattswa July 27, 2016 (9:45 pm)

    Crazy, terrible accident. I hope everyone is okay.

    Rather than all get single file for the length of the west rise of the bridge how about we use the zipper method of merging? Typically works a bit better that the sheeple cluster I just drove past.

    • Daniel July 27, 2016 (10:34 pm)

      Zipper works well during normal traffic.. not during emergency.. you need to just get out of the closed lane so emergency vehicles can go down it. And you have to slow down as you pass the accident so it’s not like it would improve traffic flow. 

      • mattswa July 27, 2016 (10:42 pm)

        Ooh, I feel shamed. 

        Of course you get out of the way for emergency vehicles, but there were none at the time I passed the scene. 

  • Daniel July 27, 2016 (9:55 pm)

    I was just there as they were blocking the east bound entrance off fauntleroy, forced to go down avalon way. As I came back west over the bridge I saw the scene as the cops and trucks were arriving. The barrier was pushed completely into the left lane. I guessed that the car lost control as it was going east down the hill, not sure how it managed to go over the barrier though.

    Many drivers were trying to stay in the left lane to go in front of the drivers on the right and blocking emergency vehicles.. shameful.

  • Kevin July 27, 2016 (10:12 pm)

    Just passed this. Crazy really. The guy must’ve been going so fast in that curve to lose control like that. 

  • Russ July 27, 2016 (11:09 pm)

    Or you could not just cut people off that have already merged? 

  • AMD July 27, 2016 (11:31 pm)

    Just came over the bridge (20 minutes ago).  Westbound traffic is being diverted before the incident, I assume for road repairs.

  • TheKing July 28, 2016 (3:41 am)

    “I’ll get them Duke boys one a these days”

    • KH July 28, 2016 (11:16 am)

      Love it!

  • jayjayb74 July 28, 2016 (5:46 am)

    This guy wa behind me as I was crossing 35th to get on the bridge, he sped around me and cut me off. Needless to say, within moments I heard the crash and saw his car up on the barrier. I don’t wish I’ll will on anyone but that corner is bad either direction so you reap what you sow. Safe travels out there!

    • John July 28, 2016 (7:41 am)

      I love Karma!  Once I was driving to WAZZU and passed a car pulled over by police….  He sped passed me maybe 30 miles later…  Sure enough I passed him again, because he was pulled over by police again..  Another 30 miles or so he went passed me.  There’s an exit off I-90 to head down to Pullman.  Sure enough at that corner his car was approximately 100-feet off the road and in a farmers field….it was winter.  I loved it!

    • Chuck July 28, 2016 (10:56 am)

      Looks like it was a nice(ish) car, too. Something like a Dodge Challenger, maybe? Fast, powerful, modern day “muscle” cars. But they only work right when all the wheels are on the ground… Sounds like a case of instant Karma. And I’m okay with that.

      • Daniel July 28, 2016 (11:30 am)

        I think it was a BMW

        • Chuck July 28, 2016 (11:54 am)

          Even better. 

    • Daniel July 28, 2016 (11:22 am)

      Wow thanks for the input.. I figured it was something like that. I don’t ride the brakes going down that hill but I don’t hit the gas either until after the corner. Some cars are also better suited for cornering than others..

  • 935 July 28, 2016 (9:28 am)

    Will you please use the proper, tax payer funded zone markers for clarification?

    • WSB July 28, 2016 (9:33 am)

      This was in zone 7, and some emergency responders did need that for clarification.

  • wsn00b July 28, 2016 (12:00 pm)

    That entire curve in both directions is a very badly engineered piece of road but that is not surprising given the general shoddy build quality of the entire bridge. There is no camber on the curve. It feels like negative camber on the WB direction where that car crashed. There is a big dip parallel to the Walking on Logs section on both directions. Multiple potholes. So, the dip + bad camber + bad road surface + the 40-45 mph regular travel speed will unsettle the suspension on even a pretty decent car like that crashed BMW 3 series.  That driver was probably going faster looking at JayJay74’s comment.

    Like everywhere else, SDOT will fix section of the bridge by adding some paint now and asking for a new 10 year levy ;)

    • miws July 28, 2016 (12:43 pm)

      FWIW, and not sure how much of a difference it makes, but that section, the Fauntleroy Expressway, is a 50+-year-old design, and the high-rise bridge,  around a 35-year-old design. 

      Mike

    • Alan July 28, 2016 (1:54 pm)

      There is a 30MPH warning sign ahead of the curve. I realize that nobody heeds a suggested speed on a sunny day, but it is a good indicator that the curve you are approaching may not be banked as you would hope. At least there are barriers. Highland Park Way has the same issue, but without the barriers, placing drivers in the uphill lanes in danger of those losing control on the way down. HP Way is posted 30, vs 40, but the actual speed is about the same.

  • aa July 28, 2016 (3:29 pm)

    All the karma talk is sad to me. What if, instead of assuming this person was some awful selfish speeder, what if you found that it was someone who just learned a loved one was in the hospital and their fear and nerves got the best of them?  No matter what the reason, think how scary it must have been for them to lose control. How about for one moment you put yourself in their shoes as they smashed into that cement barrier? 

  • Lisa July 28, 2016 (10:22 pm)

    Way to put a damper on the hatin’ aa 😄



  • bolo July 28, 2016 (10:39 pm)

    And Alan’s photo shows that it is somewhat of a “blind” curve, because those tall trees obscure the driver’s view of potential obstacles just beyond the curve.

  • Gina July 29, 2016 (3:58 pm)

    Those trees have saved many a home below from a vehicle on the roof over the years.

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