Update: Pickup goes sideways at West Seattle High School; no one hurt

Students car flipped at west Seattle high school. No one seriously hurt. @westseattleblog @westseattlenews pic.twitter.com/1bfNZK0nNl

— Jessi B (@Seattlesubcultr) April 28, 2014

(Thanks to Jessi for tweeting that photo)
12:15 PM: A police and fire response is en route to West Seattle High School for a reported vehicle rollover. We will be there shortly for updates.

12:22 PM: No serious injuries reported. Everyone got out of the car OK.

12:35 PM: Make that, truck. The rolled – more like, on its side – vehicle is a white Ford Ranger pickup.

17-year-old at the wheel, one passenger, both are unhurt, we were told at the scene – nobody else hurt either, which, observers say, is just sheer luck since this happened at lunchtime on a sunny day and many students were out and about.

Mike April 28, 2014 (12:58 pm)

Kid tips truck over in parking lot. 13 fire units dispatched.

Ms. April 28, 2014 (1:15 pm)

A student told me that they were trying to “drift” the truck and this was the result.

Curtis April 28, 2014 (1:21 pm)

Make that Kid tips truck over in crowded parking lot filled with teenagers. 13 fird units dispatched. As the parent of one of the teenagers in the parking lot – I’m just fine with the caution.

onion April 28, 2014 (1:31 pm)

I’m very relieved no one was hurt. Beyond that (since I am not the parent/owner of the truck), I’d call this a “learning opportunity.”

Poor Parents April 28, 2014 (1:33 pm)

Facepalm.

Alki Bee April 28, 2014 (1:46 pm)

Mike, do you have a problem with that? If you do, why?

Alki Warrior April 28, 2014 (1:46 pm)

That ruined lunch break for the brave in red.

JanS April 28, 2014 (2:01 pm)

I live just north of Hiawatha playfield, and, of course, the high school. The way some of these teen drivers speed around at lunchtime, I’m surprised that there aren’t more accidents around the school. Glad no one was hurt…and yes, hopefully a learning lesson.

Denise April 28, 2014 (2:17 pm)

NOT ok!!! What happens now? Is this an accident? Do they get a ticket?

Rogers Clan April 28, 2014 (2:18 pm)

How could you do THAT in the parking lot. What an idiot. Hopefully they will take his license away for a while.

M April 28, 2014 (3:08 pm)

My son just got home from school and said he witnessed the whole scene. He told me if he had left the school ten seconds earlier he would have been where the accident occurred and hit by the truck. My son said he saw it happen in slow motion, initially the truck was leaving the parking lot fast and almost hit the car in front of it and then it looked like the driver was trying to drift and that’s when the accident happened, I’m thankful that no one was hurt in this accident. It’s time for the school to reconsider allowing students to leave via automobile for lunch when in reality they only have thirty minutes to get anywhere: PCC, McDonalds, Safeway, or Jack in the box.

Wendell April 28, 2014 (3:54 pm)

California drivers…

Eric April 28, 2014 (4:04 pm)

Oh someone is gonna be hearing a lot of crap from their peers at school. Oh the humiliation.

4thGenWS April 28, 2014 (4:06 pm)

Our laws allow 16 year old kids to drive. This is fine and it can teach most kids how to be responsible. When stuff like this happens, the penalty should be tough though. The child should be fined and their licenses should be suspended for a period of time. My guess is this kid will get a slap on the wrist and he will probably be right back on the road again soon. Be careful out there everyone. Learn some basic defensive driving skills to avoid these stupid drivers. it’s not just the kids that drive like this. There are also many stupid adults on our roads.

gina April 28, 2014 (4:11 pm)

Kid is going to be called “Flip” at every school reunion for the rest of his life. And not in a good way.

Morgan April 28, 2014 (4:47 pm)

What is “drifting”?

onion April 28, 2014 (4:55 pm)

payrollgirl April 28, 2014 (5:05 pm)

Happy no one was hurt and hopefully the parents of this child and I say child because that is how he acted in this situation will make him pay for the damage to the truck and the higher rates for their insurance (now).

And again I say their must be a magnetic pull in WS to make these cars flip onto their sides!!! LOL!!!

Rick April 28, 2014 (5:46 pm)

Flipped a VW Bug in the Sealth parking lot in ’72. It’s not really all that difficult.

Highland Park Resident April 28, 2014 (6:29 pm)

Drifting: Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally or unintentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels or all tires, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner.

Seen a lot with rally car drivers. It kills your tires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKRC51PSsgY

WTF April 28, 2014 (7:32 pm)

Hope mommy and daddy take the keys away from Johnny. I guarantee you this is NOT the first time this kid has done this.
Glad no one was hurt.

Jason April 28, 2014 (8:29 pm)

Although technically “public” property, the parking lot of the school is considered “private” property as far as traffic enforcement goes, so not really anything SPD could do as far as citations, etc.
.
Parents on the other hand, could take his driving privileges away at the “family” level, but legally… nothing else. If they take his license, nothing to stop him from going down to the DMV and getting a new one. That’s just the way the system works.

935 April 28, 2014 (10:07 pm)

Good grief people. Like you didn’t showboat a little when you were in high school. This kid did and it didn’t work out quite the way they had planned it.
Relax. No one was hurt. Bet this kid learned a valuable life’s lesson.
Nothing more to see here….

JEm April 28, 2014 (10:36 pm)

I was one of the students in the driveway about 7 ft away as it rolled over. I know both the people in the truck, and I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see them climb out the window unhurt. It was a wake up call to us all, we were all shaken up

Sad Memories April 28, 2014 (11:03 pm)

This story brought back some sad memories of a classmate who was showboating before school and flipped his VW. I can remember the dust and people running to the car. He walked away but his passenger was killed. So glad this did not happen today.

ddds April 29, 2014 (9:25 am)

Gina and Eric, my son is in a class with the kid that rolled the truck – he is a popular kid with a lot of friends and an “I don’t give a crud” attitude. Unfortunatly, I suspect this will be a badge of honor among his peers, not a source of shame.

Charles April 29, 2014 (10:44 am)

“Relax. No one was hurt.”

So if I go and shoot up the place but fire into the air the whole time you’d be fine with that, right?

How about if I speed through the parking lot of the daycare where your kid goes but manage to barely avoid everybody, you still good?

Let me know because there’s a lot of stuff I’d like to do as long as it’s OK with you.

Maria April 29, 2014 (11:59 am)

935: Plenty to see here – tragedy avoided by pure luck. PE students were in the area and people walking out for lunch. Injuries or worse were missed by mere seconds of being in the right/wrong place. This coming from students who were right there.