(Reader photo)
5:50 PM: Another emergency response – this time in the 1300 block of Alki Avenue [vicinity map] – a two-car collision reportedly has one vehicle in the water, one up on the sidewalk. Updates to come.
(Added: Reader photo sent by Reiner)
5:57 PM: One person from the car that went into the water is reported to be undergoing CPR. One other injured person from the crash is reported to have a broken leg. Please avoid the area – emergency responders are trying their best to block off the road while also focusing on the injured people.
(Reader photo sent by Reiner)
6:04 PM: One trapped person has been extricated from the car that crashed on land. SFD says that person will be taken to a hospital. Divers are checking the car in the water to see if anyone remains inside:
(Reader photo sent by Reiner)
6:08 PM: So far there are two patients – one from the car on land, one from the submerged car.
(Reader photo sent by Reiner)
6:17 PM: SFD crews have just told dispatch no one remains inside the submerged car, but divers still have to check around it. History as discussed in comments: A driver went into the water in May 2009 (WSB coverage here) and survived; three years before that, a driver went into the water in the 1200 block of Alki and two men died (September 2006). … Back to the current situation: Crews in the water say they haven’t found anyone else in the water, so all divers and rescue swimmers are out of the water. SFD is sending a public-information officer to the scene.
(WSB photo)
6:35 PM: Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives are being called out, according to emergency-radio communication, so the scene may be blocked for a while, no official estimate yet. Above is our photo of police and fire boats near the submerged car. There is also some radio communication about utility damage.
6:57 PM: SFD says the person in the submerged car was pulled out by bystanders and was in critical condition when taken to the hospital. … Below, another view of the car that crashed on land, roof removed because that’s what SFD had to do to get the driver – who is in stable condition – out:
(Reader photo sent by Steve)
As for the car in the water, it’s high tide as of moments ago, and the next low tide is only a few feet lower – the next minus tide isn’t till tomorrow morning.
7:42 PM: SPD spokesperson Det. Judinna Gulpan just spoke with us and other media at the scene. Few additional details – the driver rescued from the water is female, the one cut out of a car on land is male. The process of retrieving the car from the water won’t even start until the TCIS detectives complete their work at the scene.
8:14 PM: Just watched our video of Det. Gulpan’s briefing. She also said that, as a commenter below had reported, they believe the male driver hit the female driver, head-on, at high speed, and the impact pushed her car into the water. She would not confirm whether the male driver is under investigation for possible DUI. (Update: Here’s our video:)
8:37 PM: A texter says they just pulled the car out. Here’s the photo they sent:
9:34 PM: Police are reopening Alki Avenue both ways.
9:58 PM: Harborview says the driver rescued from the water remains listed in critical condition.
MONDAY NOTE: We are following up on various aspects of and questions raised by this incident and hope to have a separate followup this evening. In the meantime, for the record (per SFD), the woman rescued from the water is 24, the driver who hit her car is 23. We don’t have his name (yet) so we are currently unable to verify his status.
MONDAY NIGHT: Our followup has to wait until tomorrow as we have a variety of questions still awaiting answers. Meantime, a friend of the rescued woman has let us know in comments and via email that crowdfunding is now set up for her and her family.
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