West Seattle, Washington
07 Thursday
12:54 AM: Sylvan Way is blocked east of High Point while police investigate a car-on-its-side crash. Just one vehicle, and nobody had to go to the hospital, police told us at the scene; it was originally dispatched as a “heavy rescue,” but that was pulled back quickly.
1:19 AM UPDATE: Westbound Sylvan Way is open again, according to scanner traffic.
The emergency response at 36th/Avalon is reported as a vehicle crash, but it’s a single-unit response so we don’t believe any serious injuries are involved. However, a tipster tells us that “one bridge-bound lane” is blocked, and shares the photo you see above (thank you!).
At Glenn/Oregon on the west side of The Junction, a taxicab crashed into the corner of a building, in a collision that also involved a truck that wasn’t seriously damaged and has already left the scene (after talking with police), according to WSB’s Katie Meyer. Traffic is still getting by both ways. No injuries reported.
6:52 PM: Two crashes on major roads right now – 35th/Juneau, the second crash in that area today (the first one was in early afternoon), this time reported to be a vehicle having hit a pole, with northbound lanes blocked by the SFD response; Fauntleroy/Cloverdale, near the ferry dock. Add that to what we hear was a very slow evening commute (even after Vice President Biden’s low-key visit ended) southbound from downtown and beyond, and it’s apparently still tough going almost everywhere out there.
7:19 PM: At least two people were taken to the hospital, by private ambulances, from the 35th/Juneau crash. Adding a photo; the red car, at left, hit a utility pole – the silver car, at center, had even more front-end damage, primarily on the passenger side. The southbound lanes remained open, as this was indeed in the northbound lanes, but avoid the area until it’s cleared – we’ll be checking back. (No additional information on Fauntleroy/Cloverdale – the SFD call has closed.)
Another hit-run crash has left a bicycle rider hurt – not seriously, this time. It happened in the 3700 block of Beach Drive SW; SFD checked out the rider, whose ankle was hurt, and was waiting with him for police to arrive; he told us he didn’t get a good look at the car, which continued northbound on Beach Drive.
SIDE NOTE: Last Thursday night’s hit-run at the east end of the low bridge remains unsolved; the vehicle description made public hours later remains the most information we have about it. A relative of the rider posted a comment today saying he did survive and that they’re grateful for those who helped him at the scene.
7:19 PM: Avoid the high bridge right now, either direction – as shown on the 911 log, there are crashes both ways, westbound near Admiral, eastbound near Delridge. (Thanks to Anne for the tip!)
7:29 PM UPDATE: We just happened to be coming back from downtown when we got this report, so we’ve passed both scenes. On the eastbound side, the right lane is blocked just past the Delridge onramp; on the westbound side, the right lane is blocked right at Walking on Logs. Traffic is moving OK in both directions.
8:04 PM UPDATE: SFD has cleared both of those scenes – but now there’s a third crash, described as eastbound West Seattle Bridge to northbound I-5. It’s being described on the scanner as “a rollover that landed back on its wheels.” And before we could finish typing this, we’re hearing ANOTHER dispatch for a spinout on the westbound side by Walking On Logs. No injuries.
8:38 PM: Those calls have closed too.
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli, replacing previous traffic-cam image)
9:42 PM: Police are investigating a collision at the east end of the low bridge, at 11th/Spokane, reported (as monitored via scanner) as car vs. pedestrian. The area is blocked off for investigation, and it sounds as if the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad will be called out.
10:19 PM UPDATE: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli reports the male victim was riding a bicycle and that police believe it was a hit-and-run. The east end of the low bridge remains blocked.
12:19 AM: The traffic camera at 11th/Spokane indicates investigators are still there. No word on the victim’s condition; we hope more information will be available from SPD and SFD later this morning.
1:54 AM: Police have just announced (monitored via scanner) that the roadway is open again.
11:33 AM: More info just published on SPD Blotter, including what to do if you have any information:
Police are searching for a motorist who struck a cyclist on Harbor Island on Thursday night and sped away.
Witnesses found the bloodied and seriously injured cyclist lying in the street at 11 Ave. S.W. and S.W. Spokane St around 8:20 PM and called 911.
Seattle Fire Department Medics responded and transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Traffic Collision Investigation detectives also responded to the scene and are investigating the case. Detectives believe the victim was struck while riding westbound along Spokane Street.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to please call them at (206) 684-8923 or 911.
ADDED: New information from SPD Friday night: “Detectives have reason to believe the suspect vehicle is light metallic blue and is missing the right side mirror. The vehicle should have damage to the front bumper as well as heavy damage to the windshield. The suspect’s vehicle had been traveling westbound at the time of the collision and likely continued over the lower bridge and into West Seattle. Detectives are asking anyone with information to please call TCIS Detective Andrew Norton at (206) 684-8934.”
(Before being pulled up & out, the pickup was out of view, downslope & behind the trees)
1:19 AM: Bizarre hit-and-run crash in Gatewood; pickup truck down an embankment off the east (northbound) side of California by Fontanelle (map). A tree kept it from hitting a downslope house; its driver got out and ran. The pickup was not stolen, though, police told us at the scene. Pulling it up off the slope will be a bit of a challenge.
2:39 AM: Setting up to get the truck back up to California SW – and out, between a bus-stop sign and a power pole – took painstaking work, but the tow crew did it (with SFD Ladder 11 on site for a while, and then a Seattle City Light employee keeping watch to be sure the power pole made it through unscathed).
California was closed while this operation unfolded. What caused the pickup to veer off the road, we don’t know; the area had some signage left over from daytime utility work in the road, related to two newly built homes on the west side. A witness had told us the pickup hit a parked car before veering off the road, and we noticed it about a half-block uphill.
If you’ve only driven, never walked or bicycled, down that stretch, you likely don’t know just how steep the dropoff is, though height-wise, it’s only about two stories.
2:08 PM: A crash on 8th SW just north of Roxbury has blocked both sides of 8th. No serious injuries reported, but you’ll have to detour around it until it’s cleared. Through traffic on Roxbury is not affected by the crash, but the road is narrowed just east of the intersection while an SDOT truck is there for cleanup. Let us know if you go through and it’s clear – we’ll check back around 3.
3:45 PM: Went back over to check as promised – it’s open again.
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
7:47 AM: Big Seattle Fire response for a possible house fire in North Admiral, in the 4000 block of Holgate (map). More to come.
7:50 AM: Small fire – it’s already reported tapped, and some units are being sent back.
8:07 AM: The fire was indeed small and was on the back porch, Seattle Fire is telling us on scene. Their investigator is currently trying to figure out how it started. No injuries.
8:17 PM: If you saw/heard all the Seattle Fire units heading for Alki – it was a “saltwater rescue” call in the 1200 block of Alki Avenue SW (map), but there’s good news; the response has been canceled except for one engine.
8:26 PM: Via Twitter, Vanessa reports it appears to have involved a kayaker, who seems to be safe onshore, while another kayaker is towing an empty kayak in.
(Just before Engine 37 left; police were east of it, at 7-11 driveway)
4:40 PM: A 28-year-old woman hit by a driver at 35th and Barton is about to be rushed to the hospital. According to scanner traffic, she was knocked to the ground and hit her head. Lots of police and fire there, so avoid the intersection for a while.
4:56 PM: The scene, at the southeast corner, has cleared quickly. No further details.
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
1:53 PM: Seattle Fire has a house-fire-sized response headed for an address in the 5200 block of Delridge Way SW (map). Smoke can be seen from the house. More as we get it.
2:08 PM: SFD tweets that it was a “room fire” and it’s out now. Nobody hurt. Investigators will be working to figure out how it started.
2:14 PM: Our crew at the scene says Delridge is closed because of the fire vehicles, and they expect to be there another 45 minutes or so. The fire apparently started in/on a mattress, and nobody was home, according to the incident commander. (Added: Closure zone is roughly Findlay to Hudson.)
4:27 PM: Added a photo of the aforementioned mattress (what’s left of it). Thanks to everyone who’s provided updates on the road status – as of 4 pm, says Betsy, it’s open (we just drove through, too, to confirm) and the Red Cross is there to help.
(WSB photos by Tracy Record unless otherwise credited)
11:38 PM: Just back from North Admiral, where another hit-run crash has left three cars with major damage, and police searching for suspects. It’s also closed California SW near SW Atlantic (map). The car at right apparently smashed into the parked vehicles at left – pushing them into and onto the sidewalk, with a tree taken out and underneath the minivan at left:
Then two people inside the car that wound up totaled in the middle of the street got out of it and ran. Debris was strewn everywhere – hood, bumper, lights, more (and a beer can) – and an SDOT crew was standing by for cleanup after the vehicles are towed.
A K-9 team was helping in the search (as you can see in our Instagram video clip).
A bystander told us a witness saw people get out of the car and run, and tried to chase them. Meantime, one nearby resident told us this stretch is often used for racing.
(Photo by unidentified texter)
12:21 AM: Via Twitter, Philip says the road is open again, though debris remains, and that the car that caused the crash has been towed.
(Photo courtesy Andrew, who says skid marks suggest a 3rd vehicle narrowly missed)
2 AM: We haven’t been able to find out yet if the suspected driver was ever found; will update whenever we do get that information. We did want to thank everyone who texted, phoned, e-mailed, messaged, and shared photos.
(Photo courtesy Rhonda Porter)
5:32 PM: A police search right now in the heart of the Admiral District is reported to be related to a burglary, according to scanner traffic. After texts about the search, we’ve sent a crew that way to find out more in person. We’ll add info as we get it.
5:45 PM: Radio discussion indicates police are looking for a specific potential suspect who lives in the area they’ve been searching.
(This photo and next one by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
5:58 PM: Police have detained the person they were looking for.
6:13 PM: A witness has been brought to identify the suspect; police tell us they’ll be looking for the stolen items next. The burglary was reported to have happened just a few blocks away.
6:43 PM: Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams confirms the suspect was arrested and that the investigation is “ongoing.”
ADDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: More details from the police report, which we obtained via SPD media relations. It started with a woman calling police at about 5 pm to say a strange man was in her house and had just left headed southbound on 45th SW. She said he was standing in the kitchen when she came home and told her he had been passing by and had seen “three teenagers in her house and chased them off,” according to the report. He also gave the woman his first name, age, address, phone number, and allowed her to take a picture of him with her cell phone. Looking at that photo, an officer apparently familiar with the suspect zeroed in on his address and matched a prior mugshot to the cell-phone photo. They found him at his residence and arrested him; he gave them permission to search for stolen property and didn’t find any.
Returning to her residence with police, the victim pointed out “long-handled garden tools that had been laid out very neatly for unknown reasons” and then inside, “numerous shopping bags that had been filled with random items from different ares of her house.” She also thought a rifle belonging to her roommate was missing. The roommate later told police two rifles and his wallet were missing.
The mystery of the three possible teenage suspects wasn’t solved, but the man was booked into jail for criminal trespass and an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in connection with earlier theft charges.
Students car flipped at west Seattle high school. No one seriously hurt. @westseattleblog @westseattlenews pic.twitter.com/1bfNZK0nNl
— Jessi B (@Seattlesubcultr) April 28, 2014
(Thanks to Jessi for tweeting that photo)
12:15 PM: A police and fire response is en route to West Seattle High School for a reported vehicle rollover. We will be there shortly for updates.
12:22 PM: No serious injuries reported. Everyone got out of the car OK.
12:35 PM: Make that, truck. The rolled – more like, on its side – vehicle is a white Ford Ranger pickup.
17-year-old at the wheel, one passenger, both are unhurt, we were told at the scene – nobody else hurt either, which, observers say, is just sheer luck since this happened at lunchtime on a sunny day and many students were out and about.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
FIRST REPORT, 4:06 AM: Seattle Fire crews have just started arriving at Sylvan Way/SW Holly (map) after a “heavy rescue” dispatch. The first unit on the scene, Engine 11, reported via radio that there’s a rolled-over car at the scene. Three people were reported to have gotten out of the vehicle. More to come.
4:29 AM: Our crew at the scene says this is just east of Forest Lawn Cemetery (WSB sponsor), near Sylvan Ridge Townhomes. The vehicle was believed to have been westbound. One person has been taken to the hospital by private ambulance. A tow truck is already on scene so while Sylvan is blocked now, probably won’t be closed much longer.
4:50 AM: Just added photos. The car took out a streetlight pole; police were notifying SDOT.
1:25 PM: One bit of followup information – police tell us there were actually two people in the car, not three, both in their 20s. Though only one went to the hospital, both reported minor injuries.
12:19 AM: Police and fire are rushing to the 9200 block of 20th SW (map), where a 35-year-old man is reported to have been stabbed in the abdomen. No other information about circumstances so far.
12:36 AM: Medic conversation over the radio indicates the man has multiple stab wounds to the upper abdomen and what were described as slash wounds to the arm(s) from defending himself, but has not lost consciousness.
7:15 AM: Police say via SPD Blotter that this happened during a home-invasion break-in, and they are looking for two people who knocked on the victim’s door, forced their way inside, tried to get him to go outside, and attacked him when he refused. His wounds are described as non-life-threatening. Here’s the full text of what Det. Jeff Kappel wrote on SPD Blotter:
(SCROLL DOWN for updates, including police joining investigation)
(Photos, video by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
FIRST REPORT, 4:34 AM: Big Seattle Fire response for an apartment fire in the 7500 block of 24th SW (map), just south of the Southwest Precinct/Home Depot area.
4:40 AM UPDATE: At least one person is reported to be hurt, and crews are calling for more medics.
4:47 AM UPDATE: It’s not a big fire – but especially for a multifamily building, it’s SOP to send a sizable response just in case. Per scanner, it’s tapped/under control. Our crew should be on scene shortly.
5:02 AM UPDATE: Our crew says the fire was in a top-floor apartment. Working to find out more about the person found, injured, in that apartment. (added) SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore will be briefing media at the scene shortly.
5:25 AM UPDATE: There’s a reason we hadn’t heard a condition for the person described as a “victim” – Moore says that person found in the burning apartment was dead. That’s the only apartment damaged by fire, but others were affected by smoke, and the Red Cross has been called in to help one person.
5:48 AM UPDATE: Moore describes the person found dead in the burning bedroom as an adult woman. As you’ll hear in the video of Moore’s briefing (above), SFD’s investigator is working to find out how and exactly where the fire started. The apartment had a sprinkler, Moore said, but it was in the hallway, not the bedroom. It will be up to the Medical Examiner to determine how the woman died – whether from the fire, or something else.
8:55 AM UPDATE: Police are now at the scene – including CSI investigators – and yellow crime-scene tape is up.
Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Renée Witt says SFD investigators asked SPD to check out the scene “out of an abundance of caution” just to make sure they weren’t missing anything.
So far, she says she doesn’t know what they have or have not found, but there has not yet been any ruling whether this was or wasn’t a homicide, and the cause of death has not yet been determined by the Medical Examiner.
4:33 PM UPDATE: We’ve been checking, but still no updated information from investigators in either department.
7:15 PM UPDATE: We’ve talked to SW Precinct Ops. Lt. Ron Smith at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. He says ATF went to the scene today as well but that there is still no official finding about whether this was a crime or not, but it is certainly “suspicious.”
8:36 PM: Police and fire are on the scene of a crash at 35th and Brandon. Someone texted us to report that “a car hit another that drove off the street and through a fence.” 35th is blocked at Dawson on the north and we’re not sure yet where on the south; buses will be allowed through, according to the scanner. More to come.
8:55 PM UPDATE: Traffic is getting through both ways, alternating one direction at a time, slowly.
9:09 PM UPDATE: Police at the scene tell us both vehicles were headed southbound; one clipped the other, which went into a yard on the east side of the street. One person was taken to the hospital.
10:14 PM UPDATE: In comments, Erin reports the scene is clear.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
4:49 PM: No serious injuries reported in a collision involving two cars at 37th and Thistle in Gatewood (map), with one car on its side, but westbound Thistle is blocked until a tow crew arrives.
5:05 PM: Added a photo. Our crew doublechecked at the scene and police confirmed, no one required medical attention at the scene. The road should be clear shortly. P.S. Thanks to the people who called and e-mailed to let us know about this.
12:23 PM: Police and fire are responding to a potential “heavy rescue” in the 5900 block of 44th SW in Seaview (map).
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:35 PM: Added a photo. No word yet on injuries – waiting to hear from our crew at the scene.
(Photo by Patrick Sand for WSB)
12:47 PM: Here’s what police tell us – the vehicle that’s on its side spun, flipped, and wound up sideways against the parked vehicle in our photo after colliding with a third car at 44th and Raymond. The sideways vehicle’s driver was headed north at the time but the vehicle ended up facing south. The driver went to the hospital by private ambulance to be checked out, but is not believed to have serious injuries. No one else needed to go to the hospital.
7:11 PM: The other vehicle involved is shown in this photo by Christopher – its driver had been heading westbound on Raymond, and was not hurt:
A friend of the driver of the vehicle that ended up sideways says she’s out of the hospital.
5:31 PM: Fire/police response at 42nd/Alaska in The Junction – Christopher Boffoli is there for WSB and says a vehicle and scooter collided (see his photo above). Thanks also to Mike and NLB for alerts via Twitter.
5:37 PM UPDATE: Christopher reports: “Victim appeared to be a man in his 30’s. He was transported via AMR with non-life threatening injuries. SFD has left the scene now. SPD is still mopping up. Traffic westbound on Alaska is not really affected.”
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