Update: Crash at west end of westbound West Seattle Bridge

ORIGINAL 3:02 PM REPORT: On our way to check out another crash. Jill sent first word of this – “a major accident westbound in the bridge just above Admiral/Avalon exit. All lanes blocked by rescue vehicles…” 911 log confirms a “heavy rescue” response to that scene. Via Facebook, Mark describes what he saw: “Two cars, one car upside down, people inside.” 3:12 PM: We’re still working to get a viewpoint of the scene but we can tell you that cars are getting off The Bridge at the Admiral/Avalon exit, so it’s west of there. 3:34 PM: Thanks to commenters for updates, including this from CJZ: “We were driving about 100+ yards behind when the one vehicle suddenly spun and rolled violently. There just happened to be an American Med. Response rig to my right as we were driving across the WS Freeway and they were able to respond within seconds.” 4:13 PM: The traffic cam for the end of The Bridge at Fauntleroy shows traffic, which indicates the scene’s clear.

CJZ February 15, 2010 (3:22 pm)

We were driving about 100+ yards behind when the one vehicle suddenly spun and rolled violently. There just happened to be an American Med. Response rig to my right as we were driving across the WS Freeway and they were able to respond within seconds. A good reminder to me and all of us to honor the speed limit there, if only to avoid hitting an accident in front of you. Kudos to those workers on that ambulance for being trained to handle emergencies. May all in the crash come out okay.
A West Seattle resident

nmb February 15, 2010 (3:24 pm)

I wonder if this accident had anything to do with a stalled car that was sitting in the right hand lane just past the Admiral exit about half an hour ago? I was taking the Admiral exit and saw a car almost run into the stalled car when the car in front of him, which was blocking his view of the stalled car, merged left to get around the stalled car right at the last moment.

holly February 15, 2010 (3:25 pm)

My friend headed westbound said the bridge is closed west. I hope everyone is okay.

magpie February 15, 2010 (3:27 pm)

Just went past, nasty looking accident. All lanes still closed. All cars getting off at Admiral or Harbor Ave. -t looked like a red car heavily damaged. Helicopter overhead now.

WSB February 15, 2010 (3:32 pm)

TV will have the advantage on this one – we haven’t figured out how to buy a share of a chopper yet, and slowing down while eastbound to snap a photo of the scene westbound wouldn’t be too wise either. Thanks for sharing the info – that’s the most important part … TR

jake February 15, 2010 (3:51 pm)

The accident is about 50 feet past the Admiral Way exit. The rolled car is a red BMW and there appeared to be a dazed guy sitting on the curb nearby. If there were a stalled car there it’s conceivable that a last minute lane shift and bumper clip may have flipped the BMW. There are multiple emergency vehicles on the scene including firetruck, emergency, police etc. FYI: The dark blue chopper mentioned above bore no news station markings, though by now I’d suspect more choppers have arrived at the scene. Beware the slow driving lookyloos.

poc February 15, 2010 (4:10 pm)

It would be nice if we had the traffic cams working. The Delridge one has been down forever and now as I try to look at it, the mid-span cam is just a garbled picture. I guess WS doesn’t matter to the city? How can we avoid messy traffic when we can’t see what’s happening on the bridge.

WSB February 15, 2010 (4:15 pm)

Agree with that. They may have turned the “working” one off because of the crash – that’s been known to happen. I am about to drive back out in that direction just to see if I can for example see cars coming off the bridge … no wait … checking the camera at 35th/Fauntleroy, looks like cars are moving again on the westbound side:
http://www.seattle.gov/trafficcams/35th_fauntleroy.htm

Diane February 15, 2010 (4:37 pm)

I can see bridge from my window; all seems to be moving fine both directions, though I cannot see exit ramp

poc February 15, 2010 (4:44 pm)

Thanks Diane. You are better than a traffic cam!

Thomas February 15, 2010 (5:06 pm)

The mid-span cam has been offline since at least Friday morning. Is there a place we should report those issues?

WSB February 15, 2010 (5:11 pm)

You can call the main SDOT hotline. But, today’s a holiday, and tomorrow they’re on partial furlough.

DaveB February 15, 2010 (7:26 pm)

Tracy, maybe you should invest in one of these: http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/videos/#player

Andrew February 16, 2010 (7:06 am)

I’m not quite sure why it is always a race, once people crest the top of the bridge westbound, but it always seems like people think it’s cause for racetrack driving. And, as long as that is the case, we will continue to see these accidents…stalled car or not.

Sorry, comment time is over.