10:42 AM: Thanks for the tip. Texter says eastbound traffic on Admiral Way is blocked just west of 41st SW by a crash. Seattle Fire sent one engine, but no medic response, which indicates no major injuries.
11:05 AM: Tow truck just arrived, according to our tipster, who also reports one person was transported by private ambulance. We’re following up with SFD (whose engine has since left the scene).
11:37 AM: Reader photo added.
It was pretty bad. An ambulance was there 15 minutes ago and one individual was on a stretcher. Hope everyone will be okay.
Was across the street at Met Market outside and heard a loud truck reving then a crash. He the truck pushed her sideways about 35 or more feet. Slow the heck down people.
I am a personal friend of and also the attorney for the driver of the Nissan. Would you kindly contact me on (425) 269-1397 or email me at pfbuckleyatty@aol.com? My name is Pat Buckley. Thank you.
We don’t know if speed was a factor yet, or if the truck was at fault or not. Often in accidents engines rev as a driver’s body is lurched forward by impact causing the throttle foot to be pressed inadvertently after the impact. Objects in motion stay in motion and all. Judging by the picture and impact position it looks like a right of way violation might have occurred. Hope everyone is ok.
It is incredible how willing and eager people are to give the benefit of the doubt to motorists in car collisions – in contrast to how reflexively they assign motive and blame to other crimes. Every single car crash: “We don’t know what happened. Let’s not rush to judgment.” But a homeless person in a tent? “They’re on drugs, our judicial system has failed, our prosecutors and politicians are weak …” etc. etc. etc. Every single car crash is preventable. It’s insane that we are always seeking to minimize the catastrophic level of destruction and death motorists cause on our roads.
“Every single car crash is preventable”=wrong. And no, I won’t provide a list.
Your incorrect, not every crash is preventable due to uncontrollable events such as medical emergencies or equipment failures etc.
This is the same type of excuse-making that aviation pioneers said about aviation safety. “Accidents happen. Human error. Equipment failure.” These things can be mitigated through better engineering, and they have. The same can be done for cars and their destructive impact on society.
I’ll start by saying I have no idea what happened here.I have witnessed a collision in this exact same location. In that instance, eastbound vehicle in the left lane stopped to allow westbound vehicle to pull into the Starbucks parking lot. Eastbound vehicle in the right lane did not. Again, not sure any of the details of this accident, but whether walking, driving or riding a bike, a reminder that if someone stops to let you go or waves you through, make sure everyone is on the same page.
Lot’s of people speed east bound to make the light on 41st. Been happening for years.
Just speculation, but if the truck pushed the Nissan down the road sideways that far I doubt it was going 25 mph (posted speed limit).
Hope everyone recovers quickly!
The car driver is my friend. She was transported to Harborview and has a broken pelvis (in 2 places) and a fracture to the sacrum. She is in tons of pain and very lucky to be alive. The trucks grill impacted her car all the way through to the gear shift. She never lost consciousness, so she heard and saw the truck driver jump out if his truck and say something like, “You’re alright aren’t you?” Which, wasn’t the most sensitive thing to say in that moment. Alas, her recovery will take 6 weeks, with round-the- clock care & support from friends and much PT before she can return to work as a healer (Acupuncturist). Thanks for everyone’s concern.
It’s a shame we allow these high grill designs on the road, especially for passenger vehicles. Extremely dangerous.
When you really want that starbucks and refuse to drive around nor wait for the morning commute right of way, so you turn in front of oncoming traffic and never get that coffee…
Timeslid. While it’s fun to “speculate” on crashes unless you’re an eyewitness it’s not helpful to anybody. Betting you (everyone else also) wouldn’t be happy to be on the receiving end of speculation from the sidewalk experts.
I witnessed the accident, as did several pedestrians walking in the area. Speed was most definitely a factor on the part of the pickup truck driver. Two pedestrian witnesses in particular walked to the accident site to report that they watched the truck driver (a younger male) excessively and recklessly speed while driving eastbound from Admiral through both the California and 42nd Ave SW intersections. In fact, the truck driver nearly hit one of those pedestrians at one of the intersections. It appeared as though the truck driver was trying to make it through traffic lights, which is all too common a behavior, especially at the Admiral and 41st Ave SW light, where many drivers love to race through.The truck T-boned the Nissan sedan at a high rate of speed and it’s truly fortunate there was not a passenger present in the car. Both vehicles are most likely totaled.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s so frustrating how willing we are to tolerate this sort of behavior. If what you described is true, we should treat it as what is: criminal negligence. This person should not be behind the wheel again for many, many years, if ever. I just don’t understand why we are OK with acting aggressively, violating speed limits, failing to yield, etc.
I was one of the pedestrian witnesses that gave a report to the police. The truck flew by me at the junction of California and Admiral then almost hit a woman crossing Admiral and 42nd, as you mention. He had green lights the whole way. He was simply speeding and did so at a rate faster than most. He was flying on Admiral. He crushed her car. Had there been a passenger the crash likely would have resulted in a fatality. The driver of the struck car was conscious and responsive while being attended to by medical personnel, although she was in obvious pain. The Admiral crosswalks on 42nd and 41st are busy. This could have been far worse.
I was another witness and spoke to SPD. It was clear the Nissan was on the wrong side of the street trying to turn into Starbucks which would make her the at fault driver because If she wasn’t there, the truck would not have collided with her. However, the main thing was, both drivers were ok. The truck looked like it had an after market exhaust which would make it sound extra loud. Even if speed was a factor, the Nissan should not have been turning from that side of the street (it would involve either crossing double yellow lines or driving on the wrong side of the road. You can only turn into Starbucks legally going eastbound). Unless you know the full story on both sides I don’t think you can lay blame, just relay the facts and let the officials do their jobs. Some people have nothing to do but speculate and take sides over things when they would be better off giving an encouraging smile or saying kind words.
It is legal to make a left turn across a double yellow line. Double yellow just means no passing. Luckily, the officials doing their jobs will know the law, and not blame the Nissan when they were performing a perfectly legal maneuver.
Hello. I am a personal friend of, and also the attorney for the driver of the Nissan. She acknowledges making a left turn at that point was not wise but I’m thinking speed of the other driver was also a factor. I would appreciate speaking to you in that regard. Would you kindly contact (text or call) me on (425) 269-1397 or email me at pfbuckleyatty@aol.com? Thank you. Pat Buckley
I am a personal friend of and the attorney for the Nissan driver.Would you kindly contact me (call or text) on (425) 269-1397 or email me at pfbuckleyatty@aol.com?She acknowledges her judgment error but feels speed was a factor in the collision. Thank you. Pat Buckley
That section between 41st-42nd on Admiral are a frequent cause of accidents, pedestrian and cars. There’s just a lot of activity on negotiating turns and driveways (e.g. cars being to enter Starbucks lot but are blocked by cars exiting). This won’t be the first nor last accident here. I don’t have a suggestion, other than that the placement of the utility pole on the SE side of the 41st+Admiral intersection is dangerous for both crosswalk button pressing and because pedestrians are hidden behind the pillar to cars. Heck I’ve almost been at fault a couple times in those intersections too despite my familiarity. I’m not blaming the environment but that section is definitely prone to accidents.
The label “traffic accidents” is definitely overused. Not all of these incidents are accidents. Maybe if we all started using “traffic crashes” or “traffic incidents” it would be a better description of what happens in these cases.
I drive up Admiral to West Seattle High School and back home twice a day. I am truly surprised the city has not set up a ticket camera on this road, drivers are so reckless. If you are driving the speed limit, other drivers will tailgate and then pass you, without using their blinkers, so they can drive 20 miles over the speed limit. When the random police speed trap is set up, the same drivers speed up the hill and slam on their brakes when they see the cop, risking causing an accident, where someone else would probably be found at fault, due to their negligence. It is ridiculous and selfish that people justify driving this way; the same people, I am sure, that complain about crime in this city and continue to break the law on a daily basis. Reckless driving is not a victimless crime.
We are all thankful that there is full video showing that the sedan is 100% at fault, and that we should probably watch this intersection while driving. After watching the video it appears that the truck driver was going between 25-30 miles per hour according to GPS on the dashcam, and could not see the sedan until the last second due to a semi truck driver waiting to turn left on 41st Ave SW (where the sedan was illegally in the eastbound turn lane while driving westbound).
Wait, I’m confused. Didn’t you say above that you witnessed the truck “Excessively and recklessly speed” and “t-bone the Nissan at a high rate of speed”?? How is it now that the truck was going a GPS verified 25-30mph?
WS Resident: Someone else posted using the same name. Don’t get it twisted, the pickup driver was -easily- speeding way beyond “25-30 miles per hour” and multiple eye witnesses reported as such to SPD. Time to get that dashcam GPS recalibrated. Also, it would be interesting to hear how the pickup driver can explain the reckless speeding and driving prior to the accident site and was also witnessed and reported. This is pure damage control.
Hello. I am investigating the collision and am interested in your input to establish the facts of this collision. Would you kindly contact me (text or phone) on (425) 269-1397? Thank you. Pat Buckley.
Witness2. By your statement the truck had a GREEN light and “almost hit a pedestrian” That means the pedestrian was jaywalking AGAINST the do not walk signal. As far as speed. Without a radar gun that is a totally subjective observation. The trucks data recorder will have ALL the information needed for an investigation. Also. How could it hit the car unless the car turned in front of it? That would make the car driver 100% at fault. Don’t know if WSB will be able to get any of the final report by SPD.
Traffic reports are not routinely available through the media office unless it’s a major incident to which the Traffic Collision Investigative Squad was dispatched (not the case here). Best I can do is see if a citation ever turns up associated with the incident # (so far no but there’s often a lag) – TR
Glad witnesses were there and contributed to the police report! I’ve lived near that block 20 years and have had many close calls from speeding cars. Sounds like reckless driving/speeding will be a factor.
A few days ago I was going S on 35th. I was 2nd in line to make a left
on Raymond., waiting for a break in Oncoming traffic which was a
constant stream and everyone speeding. The car in front of me in left
turn lane made the left turn when the oncoming car was at already at the
intersection. A totally ninja moment when no collision occured.
Warning to all pedestrians: the NYT reports that deaths are on the rise due to an increase in reckless driving during the pandemic. It may or may not be relevant to this crash, but something to keep in mind on these busy streets. Look both ways and make sure drivers see you–the crosswalk is not a magic barrier.
The increase in pedestrian deaths is due in part to reckless driving but contributing factors include insufficient safety protections for pedestrians in roadway design and the ever-increasing size and weight of vehicles on the roadway, like this truck. Did you know that the new Hummer EV is nearly 10,000 pounds? That vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. Do we need an elementary physics lesson on what that kind of vehicle will do to a person outside the vehicle?
Hello. I am a personal friend of and also the attorney for the Nissan driver. If you have any information about the crash, please contact me on (425) 269-1397 or email me at pfbuckleyatty@aol.com.
Thank you. Pat Buckley
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