Can’t tell so far from the sound of the scanner transmissions HOW it ended, but the incident that closed the West Seattle Bridge ramp to NB I-5 *is* over and police and DOT crews are in the process of reopening everything.
the news at 11 reported that the man climbed down about 10pm without incident, and was taken for a psychiatric evaluation.
thanks, we ran out to the front room to see if anyone was going to mention it at 11 since no one mentioned it (at least in the first few minutes) at 10, but didn’t see it, even with picture-in-picture. The way the scanner talk went down when it ended didn’t sound like tragedy/injury had ensued, but you never want to assume, since emergency/public-safety personnel are trained to be calm no matter what.
while I have much sympathy for the truly mentally ill..I can’t help but think about how much $$$ today’s little escapade cost the City of Seattle in O.T., not to mention lost work hours for everyone else, added costs of commute time, missed meetings, missed connections, etc… I know it took me 2.5 hrs to get home tonight…that’s an hour more than it usually does :)
Thank you for existing, WSB!
I live just off the Columbian Way exit, and all day was confused about why it was blocked off, and why the complete official silence. By 12:27am I was concocting conspiracy theories about health threats; by 12:29am I knew the complete situation, having found your blog (googled “I5 South ramp closed seattle west seattle bridge”).
Thank you for that “hyper local” coverage. It is much appreciated!
yours,
Jenny
FYI – I seem to remember someone telling me that the media doesn’t report jumpers. That’s probably why you didn’t see it last night on the news.
Yes, thank you for the information on this incident. I’m baffled as to why the media gave no coverage to this. The traffic problems affected thousands of people. I do feel badly for anyone who is suffering so much that they feel they have to resort to such extreme behavior out of desperation, despair, or whatever else. It is truly sad. But I do think the public has a right to know about events that affect their ability to go about their lives.
Where’s that pellet gun guy when you need him? :-) J/K
Thanks so much for being here.
I live several blocks away from the Columbian Way and ended up having no choice but to get on I-5 So. when I really just wanted to take the 4th St. exit.
I’ve lived here all of my life and was able to navigate away from all of the jammed up traffic to get to everywhere I needed to be with a pretty good amount of ease. Everyone who was stuck in traffic, I felt your discomfort, I’ve been where you were. But, man, it was great to be a native yesterday. I had wings on.
On the other hand, SPD dropped the ball yesterday. I hope they learned a few things to do better next time. It was 1pm or so when I passed through that area. The situation had been going on for more than a few hours at that point- more than enough time to step up communication and help traffic moving better.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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