UPDATE: Car-on-side crash, fire on westbound West Seattle Bridge

10:37 PM: SFD and SPD are headed for what’s been dispatched as a reported “four or five vehicle” crash on the westbound West Seattle Bridge near the Delridge exit, with one car “rolled over” and possibly on fire. Updates to come.

10:43 PM: Responders are arriving and telling dispatch this is closer to the Fauntleroy end. They’re also going to block westbound traffic until the fire is out, diverting drivers onto the Delridge exit. And they’re describing the burning car as on its side rather than totally flipped.

10:52 PM: Police now tell dispatch they’re not able to divert traffic off at Delridge, but hope to reopen 1 westbound lane past the crash scene in 10 minutes or so, “once SFD clears.”

11:09 PM: Just added a reader-texted photo (thank you!). The texter also says it was a one-car collision, with the other vehicles initially reported as involved actually having stopped to help. Meantime, firefighters have just told dispatch that the fire is out and one lane will, as promised, reopen momentarily.

11:36 PM: There may be another temporary delay in the area as the center barriers have to be reset after getting knocked out of alignment in the crash. Meantime, this video of what the car fire looked like from the north end of Delridge was posted by Cami MacNamara:

No injuries were reported.

32 Replies to "UPDATE: Car-on-side crash, fire on westbound West Seattle Bridge"

  • Anonomono January 3, 2025 (10:48 pm)

    Heard it. Terrifying. Praying

     

  • Joe January 3, 2025 (10:49 pm)

    Just drove by it and it’s definitely on its side and on fire. It’s a pickup truck.

  • Ss January 3, 2025 (11:02 pm)

    Still cleaning up and blocked

  • AdmiralNorth1 January 3, 2025 (11:03 pm)

    Let the dog outside and the air was absolutely toxic with smoke. Hoping that the blog would know if there’s a fire nearby…. and yes, there is. Thank you. WSB for always being so on top of what it’s going on here.. very dangerous fumes

  • SunshineGal January 3, 2025 (11:05 pm)

    1st car on side report in 2025 for West Seattle… wonder the tally for 2024? Happens way too frequently 

    • WSB January 3, 2025 (11:07 pm)

      And almost concurrently, there was one in North Seattle. Not just a WS phenom; as we’ve pointed out, this just happens to be the part of the city where there’s a news outlet (hi!) that consistently reports such (and many other) things.

      • Nan January 4, 2025 (5:46 am)

        WSB is the best! Thanks for all you do.

    • LiouxLioux January 4, 2025 (10:42 am)

      Modern car design: sticky rubber tires are further out than they used to be combined with bumpers and fenders that crumple and expose the tires even more. Plus speed and the tires will climb up the barriers until the car flips on its side

      • bill January 4, 2025 (1:07 pm)

        Modern car design: Stability and traction control that creates the illusion of safe control at excessive speed. Plus safety features that prevent bad drivers from self-selecting out of the gene pool.

        • el jefe January 4, 2025 (3:55 pm)

          Really classy response. Do you have kids?

          • bill January 4, 2025 (7:53 pm)

            No. Just a jealous sense of self-preservation. And the knowledge I am not NASCAR material, SO I DON’T PRETEND TO PLAY RACECAR DRIVER.

  • Alki resident January 3, 2025 (11:28 pm)

    The phenomenon is real. 

  • LJJ January 4, 2025 (7:11 am)

    Grateful to hear that there was a handful of people that stopped to see if they could help. <3

  • GenesseGuy January 4, 2025 (7:23 am)

    Those barriers are often out of alignment and protrude past the painted yellow line. It seems they may have caused multiple rollovers. 

    • Paul January 4, 2025 (10:59 am)

      Yeah, I think there’s some validity here. I’ve noticed the same thing. It’s been an ongoing problem literally for years. Should be a part of any accident response. Or at minimum a monthly maintenance task done at night. 

      • WSB January 4, 2025 (11:16 am)

        They do reset them after crashes, and did again last night (the scene was closed again briefly twice, once for the tow truck, then for the reset), although there may be a new problem this morning, heard something go by on police/fire radio a little while ago (but there was no accompanying crash dispatch).

    • Josh January 5, 2025 (11:09 pm)

      Bullocks. All of these crashes are caused by people driving too fast, especially in RWD vehicles in a wet turn. 

  • CJ January 4, 2025 (9:10 am)

    The “Welcome to West Seattle” curve claims another driver?

  • Derek January 4, 2025 (11:25 am)

    Rob “safety” Saka is nowhere to be found on all these vehicle crashes that seem to spike in west Seattle over other neighborhoods. 

  • 50ftQueenie January 4, 2025 (2:26 pm)

    Very scary indeed. It’s a bridge, not a freeway. 

    • Darren January 4, 2025 (3:12 pm)

      It’s amazing how often it’s still referred to as the WS Freeway, even in the video someone provided. Hasn’t been called that since the late 80s/early 90s.

  • Amy T January 4, 2025 (2:31 pm)

    We hit that just before it happened were not speeding at all caught my friends vehicle and pulled suddenly to the left we thankfully pulled out of it but sorry not so sorry that’s a dangerous piece of road it needs to be fixed 

  • CJ January 4, 2025 (3:08 pm)

    Saw a Toyota 4 Runner this afternoon at about 2:45pm that had spun out and back ended into the hillside. Occupants appeared okay but the vehicle was high centered and stuck on the curbing below the Welcome to WS sign.

  • Tracey January 4, 2025 (3:50 pm)

    I get off at the Delridge exit now.  Not driving that section anymore.  There is something wrong with that stretch of road and it made me nervous whenever I went through there. 

  • wetone January 4, 2025 (4:02 pm)

    Since High Rise has reopened, I believe this curve has had more accidents than any other section of roadway in Seattle. This curve is extremely dangerous due to the roadway surface. There are areas of resurfaced and grooved, old worn surface, patched surface and the dips. Then add the grade, any oils or fuels leaked onto roadway surface (everything runs downhill) along with rain makes the old worn surface like ice. Really surprised SDOT has not grooved whole area. Only matter of time before someone doesn’t walk away ;( 

  • Sam-c January 4, 2025 (4:50 pm)

    Never experienced any issues at that stretch in any weather, regular car, regular tires. Oh, well, I guess the only problem I’ve seen is tailgaters that are angry I don’t take that curve at 50mph like they want me too. Slow down! 

    • WSzombie January 4, 2025 (7:45 pm)

      It’s because front engine, front drive cars with soft suspensions are significantly different from trucks.That stretch has two rolling humps that cause the light rear end of trucks to lose weight balance. Since it’s uphill, acceleration is required. Light rear end, acceleration, wet roads, bad concrete and a corner are the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 punch combo to make a truck spin out. Not nearly the same as a passenger car. 

    • bill January 4, 2025 (7:56 pm)

      This! Thousands of drivers survive that curve every day. It’s not the road.

      • ShermanO January 5, 2025 (9:47 am)

        It IS the road. As WSZombie notes, it is solid axle trucks that are unsettled on this corner. My Golf has never felt a quiver on this, but my 4Runner has kicked the rear out at 10 mph slower. It behaves differently than any other corner I have experienced and so is going to continue to surprise many people. 

  • Slick January 6, 2025 (4:22 pm)

    Ive been driving that road and those turns since the “West Seattle Freeway” opened.  

    Vehicles including: 68 Chevy truck with big block tuned engine, 72 Buick,  71 Ford station wagon, Honda civic, 95 Volvo wagon, Audi A4, Honda Ridgeline, Ford Taurus wagon…
    Not all had great tires.  
    I’ve never lost control, but I do follow the speed limit.
    I do drive according to current conditions (it is a speed LIMIT, not a required minimum speed). 

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