West Seattle, Washington
04 Wednesday
10:07 PM: A water-rescue response – on land and sea – is on the way to the 1300 block of Alki [map], where a car is reported to have gone into the water. Whether anyone’s still inside it is not known yet. Updates to come.
10:11 PM: Police on the scene report “no one seriously injured here,” saying the vehicle has “gone completely over the embankment.” Apparently the car is on the rocks, NOT in the water.
10:18 PM: Added reader photo looking over the scene. According to cross-reference of the license plate mentioned on police radio, the vehicle is an F-150 pickup.
10:26 PM: The water-rescue response was canceled since it was on the rocks, not submerged. This is the same block where a driver was rear-ended and pushed into the water last year.
11:23 PM: We went to the scene for a closer look. The front grille of the truck is right up against the top of the seawall. Police were awaiting a tow truck to lift it off the rocks.
ADDED SATURDAY: Finally got a summary from SPD:
Police determined that a vehicle was driving at a high rate of speed in the 1300 BLK of Alki Avenue Southwest before the driver struck a sign and drove over an approximately eight-foot drop. The vehicle was partially on the rocks, and partially on the ledge.
Police and the Seattle Fire Department arrived to check for injuries, and they cleared the vehicle; it was unoccupied. Officers spoke to several witnesses and community members that were present yet is unknown who was driving the vehicle. Any injuries the driver may have sustained are unknown.
If you have any info, the incident # is 24-330216.
11:52 AM: Emergency responders are on shore and at sea off Constellation Park after a report of a possible vessel in trouble. They don’t have it in view yet.
12:02 PM: The call is winding down. Responders didn’t see anything, but did get one report that the vessel had “righted itself and continued on its way.”
9:45 PM: Police and fire are headed to 26th/Roxbury for what was initially reported as a four-vehicle crash, with one person possibly trapped, so it’s a “rescue extrication” dispatch. Fire dispatch says “one car is upside down on top of another.” Updates to come.
9:53 PM: The response is being downsized. Police told dispatch that this is on the county side of Roxbury. Nonetheless, it’s blocked in both directions right now. One driver is reported to have left the scene.
9:59 PM: A sheriff’s deputy popped onto the SPD frequency with an FYI that they had just had a robbery at Roxbury Safeway near the crash scene.
11:11 PM: SFD confirms no injuries were reported. We went to the scene for the photo added atop the story; if one car had been atop another, that situation had been corrected before we arrived.
10:02 PM: Police and fire are arriving at a crash dispatched as a “rescue extrication” response in the 6300 block of 48th SW, with an unconscious driver. They’re closing 48th north of Graham. Reader Al says the driver appears to have crashed into another car. Police say the driver will have to be cut out of the vehicle. Updates to come.
10:09 PM: SFD is reported to be doing CPR on the driver.
10:24 PM: One witness says the driver’s Volvo was “flying” down 48th before slamming into the parked car. SFD has just declared the driver, believed to be a 31-year-old man, dead. The street will be closed for some hours to come while SPD investigates.
10:45 PM: Traffic Collision Investigation detectives are on the way, dispatch was just told.
EARLY THURSDAY MORNING: As of 2 am, Al updates us, the road was open again. … Here’s the SPD Blotter summary (though we’ve already reported most of the info).
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Neighbor Al sent this photo, saying friends of the man killed in the crash have been by to memorialize him at the site:
His ID hasn’t been officially released yet – possibly later this afternoon.
3:32 PM: He’s been identified as Riley G. Kestner. Radio traffic while the incident was unfolding indicates he lived nearby.
12:37 AM: For the second time in a little more than half an hour, West Seattle police and fire crews are on their way to a reported flipped-car crash. This time at Delridge/Edmunds [vicinity map].
12:41 AM: This crash is reported to be blocking southbound Delridge. The initial 911 call was reported to have come from a passenger in the car who said the driver had fled.
1:16 AM: This one too may be resolved; we’ll have to try for an update from police later this morning.
(Added: Reader photos, sent by Todd)
11:57 PM: SFD is sending a rescue response to the 3600 block of 44th SW [vicinity map] for a reported flipped-car crash with someone trapped inside. Updates to come.
12:00 AM: Police tell dispatch ‘everyone’s out of the vehicle.’
12:03 AM: On arrival, firefighters tell dispatch the vehicle is on its side.
12:12 AM: Reader photo just added above verifies that. At least one parked car is damaged. No indication of serious injuries; SFD canceled all responders but one engine.
12:54 AM: Turns out two parked cars were damaged, a Mercedes (above) and Range Rover. Reader Todd also reports the tow truck is on scene.
2:56 AM: What you see in the lower left of that cropped zoomed-in shot from a traffic camera is a flipped car involved in a two-car collision on the westbound side of SW Roxbury at 30th SW. Police are telling dispatch that nobody’s at the scene, and at least one of the cars, a Kia Soul, is stolen. The other car, a Hyundai Elantra, has not been reported as stolen, but they’ll be checking with its owner.
3:51 AM: Tow crews and police have just cleared the scene. Meantime, thanks to the reader who sent that pic of the crash scene before police got there (and after everyone fled) – from it, we see the Soul was the flipped vehicle.
1:15 PM: Police and fire have arrived at the scene of a shooting in the 4400 block of SW Hudson [vicinity map]. A woman is reported to have multiple gunshot wounds. Updates to come.
1:27 PM: SPD confirms one victim. No other details yet.
1:45 PM: Police do say there’s “no current risk to the community. … There are no outstanding suspects.” And they say the victim has died.
2:37 PM: Just received an initial briefing from police. They say the woman who was killed was 57. (added) They also say three people were involved, and (corrected) would not confirm that an eviction played a role, but they aren’t saying who did the shooting or whether anyone is under arrest, only that, for now, they’re investigating, and not looking for anyone. Video to come when uploaded.
3:26 PM: Here’s the video, from WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli. The SPD spokesperson is Det. Brian Pritchard:
Det. Pritchard also has posted a short summary – with no additional details – on SPD Blotter.
NOTE: This is the fifth non-vehicular homicide of 2024 in West Seattle, after 15-year-old Mobarak Adam‘s shooting death at Southwest Pool/Teen Center in January, 22-year-old Luis Solis Lara‘s shooting death on Duwamish Head in June, 53-year-old William Tappe‘s beating death in the east Junction area in June, and 32-year-old Laupule Talaga‘s shooting death in The Triangle last week. So far Mr. Tappe’s death is the only one in which an arrest has been reported.
3:19 PM: As we just noted in comments – pending a separate followup story we’re writing right now – the woman who died has been identified as 57-year-old Tamara Towers Parry. SPD says in an update this afternoon that she “presented a shotgun” when two people “arrived at the home to serve paperwork” and that one of them, a 40-year-old man, ” fired his handgun, shooting the woman in the torso.” Police say no one is under arrest and that “all firearms were recovered.”
8:47 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a “rescue extrication” response to the 5900 block of 39th SW [map] for a crash involving a vehicle reported to be on its side. Updates to come.
8:50 PM: The vehicle on its side is said to be a pickup truck that went sideways after hitting a parked vehicle “at high speed,” dispatch has told officers.
8:53 PM: Responders on scene confirm the driver is trapped in the truck and will have to be extricated.
8:57 PM: The driver is reported to be a suspect police were seeking in an earlier domestic-violence incident.
9:07 PM: Firefighters have finished cutting him out of the truck.
9:22 PM: He’ll be taken to Harborview.
ADDED TUESDAY MORNING: The driver, 39, was in critical condition when transported, SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty tells WSB.
10:49 PM: Thanks for the tip and photo. Emergency responders are on their way to the 4100 block of Beach Drive SW for what’s reported as a flipped-car crash. Everyone is reported to be out of the car, no major injuries, so it’s only a one-engine dispatch so far.
10:57 PM: Radio exchanges indicate a utility pole is damaged.
10:18 AM MONDAY: We’re still following up but so far, we’ve heard from SFD, which said no one was hurt, and from a nearby resident who says their parked car was damaged.
12:27 PM: Thanks to Brian for the photos – above, another view post-crash; below, Seattle City Light crews that have been working in the area because of the pole damage. We’re told some lost power for a while as a result.
Meantime, SPD tells us the crash report isn’t filed yet, so we have no further information about circumstances.
10:00 AM: SFD is sending a “rescue extrication” response to a 2-vehicle crash reported at Highland Park Way/West Marginal. Updates to come.
10:03 AM: SFD has rescued one person from a car on its side.
10:13 AM: We are in the area. The HP Way hill is blocked at the bottom if you are headed downhill – you have to turn around at Pioneer Industries.
10:19 AM: SFD is leaving.
10:47 AM: Added a photo we took (from passenger seat) while driving by after approaching from a different direction. This was at the bottom of the hill on the eastbound/downhill side.
Thanks for the tips. Seattle Fire responded to Summit Atlas, the middle/high school at 35th/Roxbury, for an incident that led to a brief evacuation; we went over to find out what happened. We’re told the furnace came on for the first time and that led to an alarming odor, so SFD was called to ensure there was no fire.
10:52 PM: SPD and SFD are closing Fauntleroy both ways at Rose while investigating a crash in which a man on foot was reported to have been hit by a driver on the southbound side, by Lincoln Park [map]. Avoid the area.
(Screenshot from closest SDOT traffic camera)
11:08 PM: Police say the street has reopened both ways. We haven’t heard an update on the man’s condition but will be following up with SFD.
Of note, SDOT announced earlier this year that it would restore a marked crosswalk at this intersection, something community groups had long been requesting; the previous one was removed in the mid-’00s.
9:58 AM WEDNESDAY: SFD tells us that the victim is 21 and was in stable condition when taken to Harborview Medical Center.
2:09 PM: Seattle Fire is headed to another “rescue extrication” callout, this one for the 10200 block of 32nd SW [map] in Arbor Heights, where a one-vehicle car-on-side crash is reported, with at least one person trapped. Updates to come.
2:19 PM: That person is reported to now be safely out of the vehicle (a Honda CR-V). They’re dismissing all but three units.
2:29 PM: Added photo from our crew. No serious injuries reported.
12:03 PM: Seattle Fire has a “rescue extrication” response headed for 40th/Alaska. … SFD says it’s a two-car collision with one person reported trapped. Updates to come.
12:08 PM: SFD and SPD say everyone’s out safely so they are reducing the response to just one unit.
12:13 PM: Added photo from our crew. In the eastbound outside lane of SW Alaska by B of A/Whole Foods. No injuries reported.
SFD and SPD are arriving at the scene of a crash east of Schmitz Park, with a driver reported to have flipped his car after hitting a parked vehicle. This is at 49th/Hanford [map]. No serious injuries reported so far.
3:13 PM: The other Seattle Fire incident working right now is a two-car crash, one reportedly on its side, at 41st and Oregon in The Junction. Someone is reported trapped in one of the vehicles, with bystanders trying to help before SFD arrives. Updates to come.
3:23 PM: Thanks to Kyle for the photo above. Everyone is out of the vehicles, officers have told dispatch. Avoid the area for a while.
3:37 PM: We’re told at the scene that one person is going to be taken to the hospital by private ambulance; their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Police are talking to the drivers to try to sort out how this happened.
12:10 AM: Seattle Fire has sent a “rescue extrication” response for what arriving crews are describing as a “car wrapped around a tree” in the 3800 block of West Marginal [map]. At least two people are injured.
12:16 AM: Firefighters report they’ve gotten one person out of the vehicle, and have another to rescue next.
12:21 AM: They’ve gotten the second person out of the car.
12:26 AM: According to radio exchanges, the two injured people are a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s; he’s believed to have been the driver, and is more seriously injured. Both will be taken to Harborview Medical Center.
12:39 AM: Police have told dispatch that the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad will be coming to the scene. That means the road closure is likely to last a few hours. (added) We don’t have any imagery from the scene but plate lookup indicates the car is a 2006 Civic.
8:30 PM: For the second time today, Seattle Fire sent a water-rescue response to the waters off Fauntleroy – this time to the Lincoln Park vicinity, after a report of a person in the water in trouble. SFD says “the patient was rescued from the water by a civilian vessel. A fire boat now has the patient and is bringing them to shore to be evaluated.”
ADDED EARLY WEDNESDAY: We’re still waiting for followup information from SFD, but meanwhile, we listened back to archived incident audio; an Argosy Cruises boat picked up the person, who was then transferred to the fireboat. No hint of circumstances or whether this had any link to the earlier incident; we hope to know more this morning.
9:59 AM: SFD tells us the person rescued is a 65-year-old man who had been paddleboarding. After SFD brought him to shore, he was taken to a hospital via AMR ambulance. And below are more details from a commenter identifying themselves as the captain of the Argosy boat that rescued him.
3:43 AM: Seattle Fire has sent a water-rescue response by land and sea off the 9200 block of Fauntleroy Way SW, south of the ferry dock [map], and a search is under way. Police are assisting. Updates to come.
3:52 AM: SFD says this started after “a caller heard splashing and someone yell for help.” Neither the caller, nor the personnel on scene so far (including rescue swimmers and boat crews), has seen anyone in distress, though.
3:59 AM: According to dispatch, the U.S. Coast Guard is sending a helicopter to help look.
4:03 AM: The incident commander has told responders that since it’s been more than half an hour since the original report (the dispatch was at 3:21 am), they’re switching to “recovery mode,” so divers and rescue swimmers are ceasing their active searching in the water.
4:11 AM: With no sign of anyone in the water, responders are wrapping up the search and apparently canceling the request for USCG help too. A boat crew did find some clothing on a “small swim dock,” though, but nothing to indicate it was placed there recently.
9:31 AM: As a commenter points out, a USCG helicopter is out there now, and flight trackers show it’s been looping over the area. The Coast Guard does not have helicopters based in the immediate area; this one came from Port Angeles.
4:24 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are converging for what SFD has classified as a “scenes of violence” response at 35th/Morgan. Updates to come.
4:28 PM: Police have just told dispatch they haven’t found a victim yet. So the SFD response has been closed. We have a crew en route to find out what the initial report was.
4:32 PM: The initial call appears to have involved gunfire, according to another radio exchange. A K9 team was on their way.
4:37 PM: Police confirmed to us on scene that they’re investigating gunfire but so far no one has been found hit/hurt. They’re investigating on the east side of the 35th/Morgan intersection, which is blocked, so avoid the area.
5:17 PM: Just went through 35th/Morgan on our way back from Summer Fest. The intersection is now fully open, no police in sight.
6:13 PM: Listening back to archived police radio from around time of this dispatch, we so far have not found descriptions of the circumstances or shooter/s, but a mention that officers found at least four casings, and that “suspects” were last seen southbound on 34th. The incident #, if you have any information, is 24-194122.
ADDED MONDAY: We followed up with SPD, and received this summary:
On July 14, Seattle police responded to the area of 35th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street for shots fired at about 4:12 p.m. It was reported one man fired a shot toward another man and they both left the area. A wall of a nearby building had several holes from the gunshots and shell casings were recovered. A King County Sheriff’s Office K9 was called to the scene. No suspect or shooting victim was located.
8:23 AM: Seattle Fire is reporting a caller claims they see a partly sunken boat off Beach Drive in the Jacobsen Road vicinity. They’re sending land crews to the Don Armeni/Seacrest area in case anyone is rescued and brought there. Updates to come.
8:34 AM: So far nothing confirmed. We’ve made contact with the Beach Drive responders who note that a possible location is closer to Vashon, and vessels including Coast Guard and SFD are checking that out.
8:38 PM: They’ve found what looks to be a “derelict vessel,” no sign of anyone o board in trouble, so they’re downsizing the response, canceling everyone but an SFD fireboat. The battalion chief on scene along Beach Drive confirmed that to our crew.
12:47 AM: Seattle Fire is sending a “rescue extrication” response to the 7900 block of 18th SW [vicinity map] for what’s described as a three-car crash, with one on its side, having hit “multiple parked cars.” Updates to come.
12:55 AM: Firefighters on scene say they’re going to need to get one person out of the on-side car. They’re also blocking 18th in the area, between Kenyon and Elmgrove.
12:59 AM: Vehicle is described as a truck; driver is not believed to be seriously hurt. Responders now say seven vehicles are involved.
1:07 AM: Firefighters have extricated the driver.
1:22 AM: He’ll be taken to a hospital and investigated for possible DUI, according to radio exchanges. Meantime, much thanks to the texter who’s been sending photos from the scene – here are some of the other damaged vehicles:
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