UPDATE: Collision at California/Genesee sends two scooter riders to hospital

4:32 PM: SFD and SPD are at California and Genesee, where a collision is reported to have involved a minivan driver and bicycle rider. The intersection is at least partially blocked, reportedly on the west side. More information when we get it.

4:48 PM: We’ll be checking with SFD on injuries. They canceled a dispatch for a medic unit – which would have been needed for serious injuries – and, according to a texter (who sent the photo above), transported at least one person by ambulance instead.

4:55 PM: SFD has closed the call.

6:14 PM: According to SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty, this involved a scooter, not a bicycle. Two teenagers were on the scooter and both were taken to hospitals by private ambulance: “Approximately 13-year-old female in stable condition” and “Approximately 14-year-old male in stable condition.”

VeryPoorSENIORtaxpayer September 5, 2026 (5:43 pm)

That is one of many intersections in West Seattle that have blind spots because of all the parked over sized high profile vehicles blocking view of oncoming traffic from all directions when crossing California Ave. How about no curb parking 20 feet from intersection all sides of street so drivers and pedestrians can see when trying to cross. And thank who ever decided to reduce parking spaces in all these new condo/apt buildinhs. Just my two cents.

Curious George September 5, 2026 (8:34 pm)

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VP Sr – the city does not enforce vehicles parked to close to intersections, alleys or driveways on 95% of our streets unless called in and not always very timely.
Chemist September 5, 2026 (11:19 pm)

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Considering the law is for a 20 ft no parking setback from crossings, including the unmarked ones that are present at all intersections, that is the default here. It’s 30 ft from the traffic control stop signs present on Genesee too.Although it sounds like this happened at the alleyway, according to recent comments.
- Tae September 6, 2026 (9:33 pm)
  
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  ‘Intersection Daylighting’. A good description located at:https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2025/08/22/intersection-daylighting-safety-improvements/

Ian September 5, 2026 (6:10 pm)

There really need to be bike lanes on California from North Admiral to Morgan Junction. So many places to visit and people are clearly biking there already.Will it take people dying to make it happen?

MW September 6, 2026 (11:31 am)

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100% agree. California Ave is such an ideal route for biking it is hard to fathom why they haven’t added a protected bike lane yet. 10 minutes of biking at slow pace along this stretch literally puts you within reach of hundreds of businesses without having to worry about parking. That’s at 10-12mph, which is what Google Maps uses for biking estimates, and is about half the speed of a normal ebike or more experienced rider. Personally I already bike most of the time when going places along California Ave since it ends up being faster than driving anyway. I imagine it could do a lot to reduce traffic along this stretch overall and address the lack of parking if more people felt comfortable riding to their destination here, doubly so once the light rail comes online.

WSB September 5, 2026 (6:19 pm)

Please note that since those comments, we have updated info from SFD that this involved a driver and two teenagers on a scooter. We don’t have information on what type of scooter, whether motorized or not.

Neighbor on Genesee September 5, 2026 (6:28 pm)

This actually happened on Genesee at the alley between California and 44th. Minivan was traveling westbound on Genesee, scooter was traveling southbound in the alley. I didn’t see the actual accident, just the immediate aftermath. Very scary for the kids and I hope they are OK. I could see that the minivan driver and passenger were fine, but upset.

WestSeaWalker September 5, 2026 (7:51 pm)

That intersection is awful! The beg buttons for the pedestrian cross walk aren’t always reliable. People in cars have a hard time seeing pedestrians in front of Ittos because of the power box and trees. It’s hard for walkers to see cars because of the power box and large cars parked along the street. That intersection has needed stoplights in both directions for a long time. Cars need to be stopping there more.

Brian Hughes September 6, 2026 (5:59 am)

Scooters are super fun and super dangerous. We almost hit two young girls head-on in our neighborhood. They were wearing no helmets, riding on the wrong side of the road, and having a blast. We turned the corner and they were right there. Very lucky for all of us. I hope these two youngsters recover soon.