TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; bridge collision

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:00 AM: Routine morning so far on the routes through/from West Seattle. This week’s only traffic alert remains for Highway 99 north of downtown, late-night/early-early-morning lane closures all week. Also, it’s a short week for Seattle Public Schools – no classes on Friday for “the day between semesters.”

7:08 AM: Just getting word of a car/motorcycle crash on the eastbound bridge, Spokane St. Viaduct section, (update) between 1st and 4th Ave. exits. Someone who just went past the scene says the rider was sitting up.

(Added: Image from SDOT Twitter feed)
7:15 AM: From the scanner – left lane(s) are blocked at the scene; the rider is believed to have an ankle injury and will be taken to the hospital by private ambulance.

7:36 AM: One left lane still blocked but most of the emergency response is wrapped up so probably not for much longer.

8:06 AM: Tow crew on scene now, per SDOT.

8:12 AM: Now cleared.

EVENING COMMUTE NOTE: Several have mentioned slowness during the evening southbound commute. Metro summarized it this way around 6:21 pm: “Transit service to West Seattle is experiencing significant delays due to various traffic issues in downtown Seattle and on the West Seattle bridge. Some buses are traveling via 1st Av S instead of the Viaduct. No stops are being missed.”

Ag January 27, 2015 (7:21 am)

Yes, the motorcyclist was indeed sitting up. However, he was moaning in severe pain. We paused to see if there was anything we could do, because we are both first aid trained. Fortunately, they already had 911 on the phone. He sounded like he was in horrendous pain. If anyone knows him, please let us know whether he is okay. We are thinking about him today. Also thank you to the drivers who stopped to help. I hope you’re ok too – the secondary trauma of being involved in an accident with injuries is not insignificant.

WSB January 27, 2015 (7:23 am)

They’re taking him via private ambulance (AMR) and have dismissed the SFD medics from the scene, which is confirmation that his injuries aren’t life-threatening, at least.

roxy January 27, 2015 (7:38 am)

Fyi-Ambulence just went down Avalon

Jtm January 27, 2015 (8:09 am)

Traffic is a joke everywhere because of this. Why does it take so long to clear???

MindDrive January 27, 2015 (8:18 am)

Yep, looks all cleared as of 8:10. Just residual volume now.

AG January 27, 2015 (8:18 am)

Jtm, the motorcyclist was down on the ground with a VERY heavy bike on its side. The two cars who stopped were behind and beside him, so two lanes were fully blocked. You can see in the photo above that the third lane was partially blocked as well, with the end of the bike. I suspect nobody moved him until the medics came because they didn’t want to injure him further, and the blocking cars were protecting both him and the person who was giving him aid. In a fender-bender, I’ll join you in yelling and complaining about not clearing the road, but in this case, clearing the road before the human who was injured was stabilized and removed, would have put him at risk of being hit.

mrose January 27, 2015 (8:23 am)

thinking we need a bus lane on avalon

ab January 27, 2015 (8:26 am)

They don’t know how to clear the main arteries when something like this happens. It was an absolute mess everywhere leading to the West Seattle Bridge because of this. And drivers today seemed more stupid than usual (which is saying something!)

Jtm January 27, 2015 (8:35 am)

Yes the arterials were/still are the main problem. I obviously meant clear time AFTER the person was tended to.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (9:47 am)

I know a lot of the bridge riders. What color was the bike?

GAnative January 27, 2015 (10:10 am)

It was a big black bike with lots of chrome. I’m no expert but just seeing it at a glance on the back of the tow truck I thought Harley.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (10:51 am)

Thanks GAnative. Relief to know it was no one I knew but my heart goes out to him. Not so much to the idiot that hit him. Jail time would be awesome and well deserved but that won’t happen. It never does. Drive like an idiot? No biggie, just pay this fine.

currymouth January 27, 2015 (11:00 am)

Why do people feel (more) entitled to use the Bus Lane(s) on the Bridge when there’s a backup?
You’re not helping. Especially the small section by the gore point just before the 1st ave offramp. Gimme a break idiots. What makes your commute more important than mine that you get to break the law and annoy the hell out of folks obeying the law?

AG January 27, 2015 (11:05 am)

In fairness, based on the location of the bike’s landing and the other car, it was impossible to tell who hit whom or whether he laid the bike down for some other reason. The bike was a VERY large black/dark and chrome Harley or similar. The bike and car were in two different lanes. While it happened three cars ahead of me, I was unable to see it happen due to the relative size of the cars in front of me vs. my car. As I slowed and passed, I was focused on checking on the people involved, and whether they needed help with CPR or first aid, so I didn’t see whether the car(s) were damaged at all. It appeared that the driver of the car involved was the one tendering first aid and calling 911. It could have been a witness, but I thought it was the driver. I’m still really shaken up just from seeing/hearing the person in so much pain – I can only imagine how the various parties directly involved feel. I’d be cautious about placing blame until more is known from someone who was directly involved.

AG January 27, 2015 (11:07 am)

^^^ and yes, I *generally* assume car v. bike = car’s fault, but I’d give benefit of the doubt in a case where I saw the scene and couldn’t tell what had happened.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (11:37 am)

I’m not jumping to the conclusion the biker did nothing wrong. But regardless [love them or hate them] you should be paying attention to bikers and giving them more room. Tailgating is premeditated murder, sorry.

Dan January 27, 2015 (12:21 pm)

I was a couple cars back when it happened. Car quickly changed lanes into the motorcycle. If there is any lesson learned here it would be choose your lane early before the backup and stay there.

dcn January 27, 2015 (12:41 pm)

I’ll add a rant about the people who tailgate after an accident. Yes, traffic is bad, but following someone at 1 ft rather than 5 ft will not get you there any faster. I am talking to the silver Mercedes SUV that first used the bus lane, then tried hard to not let me merge as I came up from the lower bridge, and then proceeded to tail me very closely as we passed the accident. You passed me after the accident, swerved into the 5-northbound lane at the last second, tailed a new person, and then used the merge lane for Columbia St traffic to jump ahead of a few more cars.
.
Yes, I know you were probably running late for work due to this accident. So was everyone else. All you managed to accomplish was to endanger people’s lives in order to vent your frustration about being stuck in traffic, since the 5 or so cars you eventually managed to gain on me weren’t going to get you to work any faster.

Wendell January 27, 2015 (12:59 pm)

I commute daily by motorbike over the bridge, today I drove my car. I didn’t feel any safer being in a vehicle as opposed to riding my bike. I think there’s been a recent influx of idiot drivers to West Seattle, the route over the bridge used to feel a lot safer a few years ago.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (1:00 pm)

Well said dcn. I experience that a lot but not with Mercedes. When I’m [rarely] driving my crumby car they steer clear of me! I honestly don’t care if a Mercedes dings my car – I’d be laughing at them and what they’d be shelling out for it as a result of their actions.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (1:16 pm)

@Dan – We’re eye to eye there. There aren’t exactly a ton of lanes on the bridge – they each lead to an exit. Get in the one you need to be in when you get on it, it’s not even the slightest bit complicated.

AG January 27, 2015 (1:20 pm)

dcn, I agree with you that that guy’s a jerk.

Dan, thanks for the further info. That’s really unfortunate, as riders don’t have the steel cage around them to prevent major injury. I married a former rider, and am ultra cautious around bikes, but have also seen some of them pulling massive shenanigans (I’m talking to you, yellow Ducati rider with the GoPro on your helmet who likes to swerve in and out of traffic at very high speeds!)

We all need to be paying attention. More smart cars, more bikes, more little teeny tiny vehicles that easily sit in a blind spot + more SUV’s = lots of room for disaster, so leave room. Please.

beaglenut January 27, 2015 (2:56 pm)

Thanks for saying that AG. It’s something everyone should think about. No one should have to go through losing a loved one to a pointless error. I went through it, it’s hell. I’m on the bridge a lot never seen a yellow ducati. Now I’ll be searching lol.

Teresa January 27, 2015 (3:07 pm)

I said a prayer all the way to work. How very scary for all involved. I ride a motorcycle sometimes and am hopeful the rider will fully recover. Please realize that just like drivers, most riders ride safe with protective gear and road manners for everyone’s safety but accidents do happen, just like with drivers. Assume good intentions and wish everyone a safe commute. Our delay is nothing compared to the inconvenience of those involved and no one ever sets out to recklessly interrupt your travels with an accident.

AG January 27, 2015 (3:27 pm)

Great points, Teresa. I also have been thinking of the rider all day, as has my husband. I hope he will be ok. I know I’ve been haunted all day by the sound of his groans of agony. I hope he’s loaded full of morphine right now, feeling no pain at all, and up and about shortly, and that the driver who hit him is also ok. Most of us would be devastated to cause injury to someone due to a mistake or simply not seeing them. We’ve all had close calls and made errors in judgement. It’s a horrible feeling to have that error cause someone pain.

Busrider January 27, 2015 (5:44 pm)

Evening commute to ws is slow on 99. Accident near stadium.

ws commuter January 27, 2015 (6:24 pm)

Took 45 minutes to go from downtown to the Junction tonight.

WSB January 27, 2015 (6:43 pm)

Apparently a stalled vehicle was to blame for all this. Sorry to have missed it in realtime.

East Coast Cynic January 28, 2015 (7:21 am)

While passing thru the viaduct about a half hour or so into my ride, I noticed the timely non-removal of that stalled vehicle by the WSDOT:/

beaglenut January 28, 2015 (7:52 am)

Is anyone interested in banding together for a morning split of the west bound lane for those driving east? The west one is deserted.

SJ2 January 28, 2015 (11:04 am)

Wow, thank you for posting about the evening commute! It took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to get from Fremont to West Seattle via 99 south. I was late picking my son up from daycare. I always leave early, but this was by far the worst commute I have experienced in quite a long time.

Sorry, comment time is over.