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UPDATE: Rescue response for crash on Beach Drive

12:32 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a “rescue extrication” response to the 6000 block of Beach Drive SW [map], where a driver initially was reported to have hit a parked car that had two people inside, but the SFD dispatch now describes it as “car into house.” Updates to come.

12:38 PM: Firefighters say everyone’s out of the car – which they say is “on the sidewalk” – so they’re reducing the response.

12:48 PM: SFD has completely closed its response; police have called for two tow trucks.

UPDATE: About the emergency response near 39th/Oregon/Fauntleroy

12:47 PM: Lots of questions about this response, as it’s in such a visible place and the police/fire turnout had some fearing the worst, so we’re mentioning it in case you wondered too. This was initially dispatched as a “motorcycle vs. pedestrian” collision but then described by police as involving a “moped” (ebike or scooter). One person was reported hurt, apparently the rider, as a tow was ordered for the bike; we’re checking on the rider’s condition.

5:02 PM: SFD says the rider, a man in his early 30s, was in stable condition when taken to the hospital. The pedestrian was not hurt.

Gas leak in southeast Admiral

Thanks for the photo. That’s the Seattle Fire response at the scene of a gas leak near 40th/Hanford. Seattle Fire is just wrapping up its response now that Puget Sound Energy is on the scene and is reported to have secured the line. According to emergency-radio exchanges, a construction crew hit a 5/8″ service line “in the street” and that’s what caused the leak.

UPDATE: Rescue response on Beach Drive

7:30 PM: Now there’s another rescue dispatch – this time to the 6700 block of Beach Drive SW, where a man is reported to have “fallen down a bluff.” But first units on scene say the man may not be in major trouble so they are reducing the response.

7:34 PM: The remaining units just told dispatch they’ve already rescued the man.

8:40 PM: Just a note to say that, after a technical outage (sorry about that), we’re back up and checking with SFD on the man’s condition.

About the emergency response in Admiral

(Added: WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)

If you too are wondering about the big police/fire response at an apartment complex south of California/Stevens – responders rescued someone who was threatening self-harm. The person will be taken to a hospital.

Reminder that if you are, or someone you know is, having thoughts of self-harm, you can call the 988 hotline any time of day or night.

UPDATE: Water-rescue response off West Seattle – unfounded

11:28 AM: Big SFD response now for a report of a canoe in trouble off Seacrest with up to 8 people aboard.

11:31 AM: Rescuers have yet to confirm that anyone is in trouble.

11:34 AM: Rescuers have learned it’s a drill. They’re canceling the response. (Added: Whose drill, we don’t know – practicing regaining the control of canoes after capsizing – but one firefighter was heard grousing over the air, “Nice of them to tell us.”)

UPDATE: Big Seattle Fire response on land and sea; kayaker ultimately rescued by U.S. Coast Guard

(Added: WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)

1:35 PM: Thanks for the tips about a big Seattle Fire response along Harbor Avenue SW. They’re checking out a possible person aboard a vessel in trouble. More to come.

1:37 PM: The Coast Guard is also involved in the response and Seattle Fire radio indicates they’ve recovered “a patient” from a vessel.

1:48 PM: USCG is handling the patient, who is not believed to be seriously hurt/ill, and SFD is demobilizing its part of the response.

2:20 PM: Listening back to the initial radio traffic, the incident started with a “sinking vessel” reported somewhere off Blake Island. We haven’t heard what kind of vessel nor what its status is, but will follow up with USCG.

5:34 PM: USCG tells the story via its X account:

A #USCG crew from Station Seattle rescued 1 man this afternoon after his kayak took on water while he was transiting between Alki Point and Blake Island. The man called 911, but dispatchers lost comms with him. The man entered the water at some point after that. The #USCG crew was underway in Elliott Bay at the time. They quickly located and brought the man aboard their boat. Units from @SeattleFire and @KitsapWa also responded. He was seen by EMS in W. Seattle. He was wearing a life jacket during the incident.

UPDATE: Car-on-side crash in Seaview

10:37 AM: SFD has extricated one person from what’s reported to be a car on its side in the 5900 block of 44th SW. Updates to come.

(WSB photo by Torin Record-Sand)

10:59 AM: One woman is being sent to Harborview. Our crew was told she was the driver of the car that went sideways. She is reported to have hit at least one parked car. This is on 44th just south of Juneau, obviously blocked until the wrecked vehicles can be cleared.

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli, who also shared video)

SPD told us there were no signs of driver impairment. Neighbors told us a second car was apparently damaged, in addition to the blue one shown in our first photo above.

11:58 AM: Officers just told dispatch the street has reopened.

UPDATE: Water-rescue response off Alki Point, ultimately unfounded

May 4, 2025 5:07 pm
|    Comments Off on UPDATE: Water-rescue response off Alki Point, ultimately unfounded
 |   West Seattle news | WS breaking news

5:07 PM: A water-rescue response has been sent to Alki Point via land and sea after 911 got a call from someone on a passing ferry who said they saw a windsurfer about 1,000 yards off the point, possibly in distress.

5:13 PM: Some SFD units are reported to be going to Seacrest in case a victim is found and needs to be transported to a land unit there. Meantime, no sign of the possibly-in-trouble person yet.

5:18 PM: One responding boat has made contact with a kitesurfer who’s not in trouble. Crews will continue standing by while boats search the area just to be sure there’s nobody else in the area who is in trouble.

5:22 PM: After talking to the aforementioned kitesurfer, and checking back with the original caller, they’re pretty sure the call ultimately was unfounded, so most responding units have been dismissed.

UPDATE: Flipped-car crash on SW Dawson

3:08 AM: It’s not a huge response because those in the vehicle are reported to have gotten out safely, but a “rollover” crash is reported in the 1900 block of SW Dawson [vicinity map], the precarious section of road where it bends along a ravine. No other details.

3:16 AM: SFD is already leaving the scene, after its crew reported finding a “partial rollover” and that no one was there to treat – “everyone left.”

3:42 AM: Officers just told dispatch they’re blocking both lanes of Dawson as they prepare to get the vehicle towed, and that there’s a fluid spill SDOT should clean up.

4:02 AM: The street has reopened both ways.

UPDATE: Car-on-side crash at Admiral/46th

(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli unless otherwise credited)

5:38 PM: Thanks for the tips. Emergency responders are at the scene of an SFD “rescue extrication” callout for a flipped vehicle. Avoid the area – 46th/Admiral Way. Updates to come.

5:47 PM: Actually it’s a car on its side, as our photos show. SFD says two people have been rescued from the car and that firefighter/medics say both are in stable condition.

6:01 PM: Photos show at least three vehicles involved – the one that went sideways, a UPS truck, and from another angle sent by a nearby resident, an SUV with front-end damage.

(Photo sent by nearby resident)

6:16 PM:Westbound Admiral is reopening, police are telling dispatch. Eastbound remains closed pending tow truck(s). Meantime, Christopher Boffoli has been at the scene for WSB; he spoke with the UPS truck driver, who reports being tangentially involved – the two other vehicles collided and then slid into the truck, which had minimal damage. Christopher has also confirmed that only one of the two people rescued from the sideways car was taken to the hospital, and that was via private ambulance, so her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

6:31 PM: Now eastbound Admiral is reopening too.

ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: One driver, a 73-year-old woman, was arrested and booked into jail for investigation of DUI. Police say the woman taken to the hospital is 96 and was a passenger in the arrested driver’s car. According to the police narrative we obtained this morning, they both were in the vehicle that went sideways and were the two people extricated. Police say multiple witnesses told them that the “vehicle begin traveling through the intersection, bypass the lane of congested westbound traffic and collide into (the other vehicle) which was traveling in eastbound lane.” They took the driver into custody after observing signs they interpreted as impairment; they say she reported having a “large” alcoholic beverage with dinner at an Admiral restaurant. In addition to the arrest for investigation of DUI, the report says she was cited at the scene for failure to yield at an intersection.

UPDATE: Deadly motorcycle crash on westbound West Seattle Bridge’s Delridge offramp (victim ID added)

8:24 PM: Thanks for the tip. Police and medics are on the westbound West Seattle Bridge near the Delridge offramp because of a motorcycle crash. Updates to come.

8:27 PM: Medics just told dispatch the rider did not survive.

8:38 PM: Police just confirmed the death.

8:50 PM: We missed the original dispatch, so we’re checking the archived audio for any other details. No other vehicle reported involved, so far; initial dispatch was “motorcyclist vs. jersey barrier … right at the Delridge exit.”

(WSB photo)

10:20 PM: As a commenter noted, the motorcycle was toward the end of the Delridge offramp, by Fire Station 36. Our photo above is what we could see from under the bridge. Meantime, SPD has posted about this, but no additional details; they’re asking anyone who might have information to call the Traffic Collision Investigation unit at 206-684-8923.

1:51 AM: SPD has since updated its post to say the rider who died was a 42-year-old man. This is the first deadly collision in West Seattle in five months, since the October 30 one-car crash in Seaview that killed 31-year-old Riley Kestner.

ADDED 3:59 PM: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the crash victim as Kristopher M. Griebe.

UPDATE: Flipped-car crash at Westwood Village, 2 hurt

(Added: Photo sent by Jessie McClurg)

9:33 PM: SPD and SFD are responding to a report of a flipped-car crash in the Westwood Village parking lot near QFC and Rite Aid. The car is described as a “blue Hyundai sedan.” One person is reportedly trapped, one ejected, per dispatch. Updates to come.

9:39 PM: The flipped car is described as “in the bushes” and firefighters told dispatch that one person is indeed in the vehicle – they’re working to cut that one out – one outside. Neither is believed to have life-threatening injuries, in early assessment.

9:47 PM: Added a reader photo just sent. Firefighter have told dispatch they’ve gotten the trapped person out of the car (further described as a Hyundai Sonata). SFD describes both injured people as in stable condition.

(Added: Photo sent by Tim Durkan)

9:50 PM: Added another photo we just received. Meantime, an officer at the scene has just told dispatch, “This will be a medically related collision.”

ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: SFD tells us the 56-year-old woman rescued from the vehicle was taken to a hospital; the other injured person, a 43-year-old woman, did not need that level of treatment.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Trash truck on side at Marine View Drive/46th SW

March 18, 2025 3:39 pm
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC ALERT: Trash truck on side at Marine View Drive/46th SW
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts | WS breaking news

(Photos sent by Natalie)

Thanks for the tips and photos. A Waste Management truck is on its side at Marine View Drive and 46th (where a “ghost bike” still serves as a reminder of a deadly crash). Apparently no injuries in this, as SFD was not sent so it doesn’t appear on the online log.

66-year-old Steve Hulsman was riding a bicycle at that intersection when he was killed in a collision in December 2023.

UPDATE: Police pursuit on Delridge Way, followed by ‘rescue extrication’ callout for crash inside building

(SDOT camera screenshot)

9:42 PM: If you saw the police chase that just went northbound on Delridge Way, it’s a King County Sheriff’s Office case, possibly related to gunfire, according to discussion on SPD radio. No other details yet.

9:46 PM: This apparently ended with a “car into building,” according to the “rescue extrication” callout just dispatched.

9:49 PM: Officers told dispatch the building is the HR Block office at Delridge/Andover. KCSO reportedly has taken one suspect into custody. … Delridge is “completely shut down” at Andover. Two people have been rescued from one vehicle and SFD says there’s another injured person in another vehicle.

9:56 PM: Police report the signals at the intersection have been knocked out of power.

(WSB photos from here)

10:28 PM: Just went to the scene – one car is in the HR Block, another crashed on the southbound roadside.

Street will be closed at least another hour per police.

10:58 PM: More pics added. We’re still working to get more info on the circumstances and injuries. We don’t know for sure which of the crashed vehicles was the one being pursued – but the pursuit was northbound, and the HR Block is on the northbound side ….

11:16 PM: Commenter Miriam – who says they were in a third damaged car – says the car inside the HR Block is indeed the one that was being chased. Meantime, KCSO spokesperson Capt. Tim Meyer tells us this is what preeded it:

This incident began around 9:00 PM when deputies responded to the 11500 blk of 10th Ave S for a report of shots or a pellet gun heard. A suspect vehicle was later located by responding deputies and a pursuit ensued. This ended in a collision with two persons, at this time, detained. No deputies were injured. This remains an active scene. We will have no further updates until Wednesday morning as work in this case continues. We are unaware of any suspects outstanding.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: SFD says two people were treated from vehicles involved in the crash (we don’t know which vehicle/s with which they were associated) – a 41-year-old woman and 42-year-old man, both assessed as being in stable condition; she was taken to the hospital by private ambulance, while SFD says he “reportedly went to a hospital in a private vehicle.”

UPDATE: Car-on-side crash at 31st/Thistle

9:39 AM: This didn’t generate a big emergency response, so we might have missed it if not for the texter who sent that photo. This happened in the past half-hour at 31st SW and SW Thistle. The response level indicates no serious injuries, but we’re verifying with SFD.

9:58 AM: According to incident audio, the driver walked/ran away from the scene before police got there; he was described as white, 25-30 years old, medium to heavy build, blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, black shoes. The crash also was reported to have knocked down some of the pedestrian signage at the intersection.

Sidewalk crash in Upper Morgan

If you passed 37th/Morgan in the past half-hour, you might have seen that startling sight – a car up on the sidewalk, after hitting the bottom of a home’s stairway to/from the streetfront. SPD and SFD are still there; the driver is reported to be hurt, but not seriously. SFD is parked on 37th so this isn’t affecting traffic, we’re told. No info so far on the circumstances.

UPDATE: Seattle Fire ‘rescue extrication’ response after rail-car incident on Harbor Island

2:35 PM: A big Seattle Fire response is arriving in the 3200 block of 16th SW on Harbor Island for a “rescue extrication” response related to an apparent industrial incident. Three people are reported hurt, at least one seriously; those who were trapped were “dug out” by co-workers, responders told dispatch, so they’ll be downsizing the response. They say they’re in a “gravel yard by the old mill.”

2:50 PM: Medics have reported via radio that the three injured workers were “in a rail car unloading freight when 100-pound bags of grain collapsed on them.” All are reported to be conscious and all will be taken to the hospital – a 22-year-old man by SFD medic unit, 24- and 40-year-old men by AMR ambulances.

UPDATE: Vehicle goes over Alki Avenue seawall (updated)

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.

(Reader photo)

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.

(WSB photo)

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.

UPDATE: ‘Sinking vessel’ call off Beach Drive

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.”

UPDATE: Rescue response for 4-car 26th/Roxbury crash

(Added: WSB photo)

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.

UPDATE: Driver killed in Seaview crash

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.

(Photo sent by Deb)

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.

UPDATE: Another flipped-car crash, this time in North Delridge

(Added: Reader photo)

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.