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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday watch; 1st Ave. crash

August 19, 2019 6:52 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)

6:52 AM: Good morning!

LANE-CLOSURE REMINDER: As announced on Friday, the inbound lanes in each direction on the high bridge will be closed approximately 8:45 am-2:45 pm for hydrant testing.

9:59 AM: If you’re headed toward downtown, avoid 1st – there’s a major emergency response for what’s described as a vehicle into a building.

10:08 AM: Via Twitter, witnesses report this as a dump truck that went “out of control” down James so the investigation scene is likely to be fairly extensive and closed for a few hours.

10:17 AM: They’re also evacuating the damaged building (which included businesses including a Subway shop, photos show). SFD says three people have been taken to Harborview.

10:45 AM: Per scanner, investigators may be “processing” the scene for up to six hours so this will likely affect the evening commute and we’ll track with a separate pm update for the southward-bound hours.

11:13 AM: Metro alert:

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14 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday watch; 1st Ave. crash"

  • AMD August 19, 2019 (10:01 am)

    A car went into a building in Pioneer Square so traffic is pretty terrible.  Basically like the afternoon commute of the last several weeks, but heading north this time.Also, please stay out of the bus lane on the WS bridge.  My bus had trouble getting INTO the bus lane because it was so full of cars.  I hope SPD has enforcement out tomorrow.  Easy money there.

    • WSB August 19, 2019 (10:04 am)

      I just added a mention of that two minutes ago. Definitely avoid 1st.

    • Matt P August 19, 2019 (10:49 am)

      That was fun. Normally the C on 1st uses both lanes to turn onto Cherry because there’s not much room to make the turn from the outside lane but because of the car in the building the right land was backed up so we had try the turn from just the left. Right when we started the turn some jerk cuts across us and parks  illegally in the last space but they were sticking out and blocking the hydrant. We couldn’t go forward or backward then the jerk gets out of the car and argues for 10 minutes that the space is legal. Eventually a metro guy showed up to direct traffic we backed up and the car left and I got off and started walking. The bus continued down first and cut up Marion instead.  I was only a minute behind the bus eventually getting to my 3rd and Seneca stop. Good times in downtown Seattle.

    • Wendell August 19, 2019 (11:48 am)

      Sign on the WS Bridge said the bus lane was open to all traffic.

  • AMD August 19, 2019 (10:08 am)

    Bus just went by it.  VERY bad accident.  Looks like three cars involved.  Hard to tell because they are so badly smashed.  I hope everyone is okay.  The building looks to be the triangle garage on 1st and Yesler.  Buses are being flagged through on Cherry but that street and many others are closed completely to traffic.  Many fire trucks and ambulances in the area.  I would suggest avoiding it completely.

    • WSB August 19, 2019 (11:03 am)

      The “runaway dump truck” (current description) driver hit the vehicle(s) that in turn hit the garage, but the truck itself ended up inside the Subway on 1st. Also, there’s an official reroute advisory I’m adding. This is all likely to go on well into the afternoon so we’ll have a separate update later.

  • cjboffoli August 19, 2019 (11:01 am)

    Man alive!  That dump truck driver was having a horrible Monday.

  • DM August 19, 2019 (11:29 am)

    Are there delays on the NB buses (120, 125, C) that have rerouted downtown? 

  • Randy smith August 19, 2019 (11:40 am)

    Talked with witness. Pedistrian hit, two people inside Subway. Three cars involved (probably totaled) witness heard loud bang from the truck before he started rolling down the hill. Driver bailed out of moving truck just before it hit Subway. This whole area will be a mess for hours.

  • BlairJ August 19, 2019 (11:48 am)

    From pictures on other news sources, it looks like the dump truck hit the more recent building on the SE corner of 1st & Yesler.  If it had hit one of the 1890s buildings the structural damage might have been much worse.

  • WSB August 19, 2019 (11:56 am)

    SPD Blotter post with basics so far:
    https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2019/08/19/detectives-investigating-after-pioneer-square-dump-truck-crash/

  • Lola August 19, 2019 (3:11 pm)

    I just saw the pictures of the destruction.  It said that the truck had a “catastrophic mechanical failure,” .  It said the driver was not injured but that a few people were hit and one lady had to be extricated from the wreckage.  It could have been worse.  

  • 98126res August 19, 2019 (6:04 pm)

    Thank you for the post, and photos, and comments.  Such an awful scary incident, pray for all involved.

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