West Seattle, Washington
31 Sunday
(UPDATED MONDAY NIGHT with fire cause – scroll down)
3:36 PM: Fire crews are rushing to the 10100 block of Marine View Drive (map) for a reported house fire. Two people may be hurt, according to scanner traffic.
3:45 PM: At the scene. Needless to say, Marine View Drive is blocked:
The fire is reported to be under control, according to the scanner. No flames currently from our vantage point at the scene.
4 PM: There were two medic units at scene; one has taken a male patient to Harborview Medical Center for smoke inhalation, according to scanner traffic. Our crew at the scene says a private ambulance has arrived for a woman who was able to walk to it under her own power. A Seattle Fire Department public-information officer is being dispatched to the scene, so we’ll have official details before long. Meantime, smoke is no longer coming from the house (we don’t have a clear shot of it yet as police/fire crews are keeping people, media included, way back).
4:20 PM: The public-info officer was canceled; we’ve talked to an on-scene commander, who confirms the people who were hurt are the residents of the home, and both suffered from smoke inhalation. Their grandson was also in the house but was unhurt. The fire is out; investigators have just arrived, so there’s no word yet what caused it, but they say it was on the house’s “wine-cellar level.”
4:42 PM: We’ll be checking shortly to see if Marine View Drive has reopened. Meantime, adding a couple photos. Immediately above this update – since the house was at the end of a fairly long driveway, firefighters had a challenge to string hoses to the scene from the nearest hydrant. At the top of the story, the photo shows the house being aired out with fire crews’ heavy-duty fans once the fire was confirmed out.
5:08 PM: Per announcement heard on the scanner, Marine View Drive is now fully reopened to traffic.
ADDED 9:51 PM: Seattle Fire investigators say the fire was accidental. From the update on their Fire Line website:
… After interviewing the occupants and examining the scene, investigators concluded discarded smoking material on cardboard was to blame for the fire which began in the basement wine cellar. …
Damage is estimated at $70,000.
(Photo added 11:30 pm)
10:33 PM: A crash has brought down a pole and wires at Delridge/Sylvan (map), so police are blocking Sylvan at Holly. A medic unit’s now being called.
11:15 PM: The crash is nowhere near Delridge – it’s along the greenbelt area of Sylvan, halfway between Forest Lawn (WSB sponsor), where police have a roadblock on the north side, and the Vietnamese Cultural Center across from Home Depot, where the south roadblock is. So the Delridge-to-35th route through High Point is cut off till City Light finishes repairs. Police said some power was out as a result of the crash, though nothing’s showing on the City Light map; some of the street lights did appear out as we hiked in. The crashed car itself is off the road, so the roadblock is purely for safety reasons.
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: While Ken noted in comments that the road was still blocked at 8 am, we drove through at noon, so it’s clear now.
Southbound Delridge is blocked at Trenton right now by a crash that appears to have involved three vehicles. As our photo shows, one of them wound up on the sidewalk. An ambulance has been called for one person. No other information on circumstances, but avoid the area for a while.
(Photos and video by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
11:55 PM: We’re on our way to the 6400 block of 48th SW (map), where fire crews have just arrived at the scene of a “heavy rescue” call and are reporting a car has flipped.
12:09 AM: One person was pulled out of the car, a woman described on the scanner as alert and conscious.
12:19 AM: Tow truck just arrived at the scene, so 48th should be clear before too long. The driver was taken by Medic 32 to Harborview Medical Center. The Saturn sedan she was driving had flipped right in front of the bus stop on the west side of 48th, just at the top of the hill down toward Lowman Beach. A lieutenant at the scene tells WSB’s Christopher Boffoli that the driver’s injuries are not life-threatening. Police also say they suspect alcohol might have been involved.
12:44 AM: 48th SW has reopened to traffic.
2:07 AM: Added Christopher’s video of the car being turned right-side-up by the tow crew.
Thanks to Sharonn for the photo from 37th/Alaska, where a Route 54 bus was involved in a crash. Not major, but as you can see from the ambulance in the photo, at least one person was hurt, and eastbound Alaska (by the VFW and Legion halls) will be difficult to get around until the scene is clear.
1:45 PM: We mentioned this earlier only on Facebook and Twitter because it looked like it would clear fairly fast, but apparently it hasn’t cleared yet: Avoid Fauntleroy end of eastbound bridge, there’s a crash parallel with Nucor.
2 PM: We passed the aforementioned scene on both sides of a quick run downtown. It should be clear shortly – a tow truck was getting the last of the vehicles at about 1:50 pm. (We don’t have any information on circumstances or injuries, though.)
We also have seen two apparent spinouts today on the southbound 99 offramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge – this one at about 1:46 pm hadn’t even drawn police yet:
There’s also been a crash in West Seattle, 42nd/Findlay, this past half-hour, and Christopher Boffoli checked it out – stand by for more on that.
2:33 PM: From Christopher:
He says private ambulances were on hand, with at least two people expected to go to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. We don’t have the official word yet on citations but it appeared that the southbound car had a yield sign but failed to yield, he says, adding: “It took SFD a bit of time to extract the passenger in the gold van as the door on that side was deformed by the crash.”
If you’re in or around Highland Park, you might have heard/seen the response to this about an hour ago – what was briefly a “heavy rescue” call in the 1700 block of SW Holden (just a block west of Fire Station 11). We don’t have many details, but apparently this car collided with a second one (which was visible nearby and did not appear seriously damaged), went through a fence and into the stoop/front corner of a house. This was the second car-hits-house crash in West Seattle in a week; we covered one at 34th/Trenton last Thursday afternoon. SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl says their medic units were not used to transport anyone, but isn’t sure if a private ambulance might have been called. 9:27 AM: Just talked with SPD, but the report’s still being written, so we don’t know the circumstances, or whether anyone was cited. We’ll check back later.
(Video substituted 6:10 am for original photo)
5:03 AM UPDATE: Fire crews are at a multiplex building in the 5000 block of 38th SW (map). They report the fire is tapped. Neighbors who e-mailed us report lots of smoke. We are on our way to find out more.
(Photo added 5:44 am)
5:19 AM UPDATE: On scene. Still very smoky. No injuries; a medic unit has just been cleared from the scene, as have some of the engines originally dispatched. Investigators also tell us it’s a fourplex, and the fire was in one of the rear units. They say one man was home in that unit when the fire started, and got out safely. They’re working to figure out the cause.
10:11 AM UPDATE: Just checked back with SFD. Spokesperson Kyle Moore says investigators are calling the fire accidental – caused by an “unattended candle.” Damage totaled $75,000, and the Red Cross is helping residents who aren’t able to go back into their apartments right now because of the fire and its aftermath.
12:12 PM: A crash at 35th/Henderson has police diverting traffic north of the scene, at SW Trenton, and south at Barton. More details to come.
12:19 PM UPDATE: Added a photo. No information so far on the circumstances of the crash, but as the picture shows, two cars were involved. The private ambulance was there to take one person to the hospital. It and the fire truck have just cleared, according to our crew on the scene, but you’ll want to avoid the area a while longer, till debris can be cleaned up, and vehicles towed if needed.
1:03 PM: Went back over to verify – the scene is all clear, traffic back to normal.
(Photo by Shari, via Twitter)
8:33 PM: We don’t know a lot about the circumstances yet, but there’s a “heavy rescue” callout on southbound 99 at the West Seattle Bridge exit; one caller tells us a car has “one wheel over the edge.” (And now we’re getting photos via Twitter too – just added one above – thanks to Shari and Judy for sharing theirs.) For now, if you happen to be in or north of downtown, you’ll want to find an alternate route back to WS. No information yet on injuries.
8:57 PM UPDATE: The Fire Department has cleared the scene, according to the 911 log, but still no official info yet. In comments, “Mn” says it appeared the driver was OK and talking with authorities.
9:35 PM UPDATE: Just drove The Bridge/99 downtown and back, and the scene is clear, everything moving normally.
The scene’s clearing, but in case you passed by and wondered – the police/fire response at 35th and Barton (map) this past hour was for a bicycle-car collision. Police were still sorting out how it happened but told us that no one was hurt badly enough to be taken to the hospital. It happened on the northwest side of the intersection.
ORIGINAL 1:59 AM REPORT: Police and medics are at the scene of a stabbing in the vicinity of 37th and 99th (map). According to scanner traffic, the victim is a 25-year-old stabbed in the abdomen and face with a “kitchen knife.” He’s being rushed to Harborview Medical Center.
2:17 AM UPDATE: At the scene, police tell us they are questioning a suspect. Adding a photo. No information on the circumstances yet, but we’ll be checking back.
1:08 PM UPDATE: Details on the circumstances, just obtained from Lt. Ron Smith of the Southwest Precinct: He says the incident started with an “ex-boyfriend forcing his way into the residence.” That man, he says, attacked his ex-girlfriend and another woman – until “another male in the residence … stabbed the (domestic-violence) suspect in an effort to stop the assault.”
In case you passed by and wondered what happened – not a major crash but certainly an unusual sight: In the past half-hour, WSB contributor Katie Meyer checked out this crash outside the pawn shop at Fauntleroy/Edmunds. As the top photo shows, close call for the store. Katie reports neither driver was hurt; too soon to say how they wound up in this side-by-side crash formation. Tow trucks were on the way.
(Disclosure: We have blurred the license plates in the top photo.)
5:06 PM: Thanks to Adam and Courtney for the tips on a car/pedestrian crash at 35th/Morgan about half an hour ago. We got there fairly quickly, but the scene was already cleared – Adam says the northbound lanes were blocked at one point – and the police cars in our photo were the only evidence left. Police confirm one person was hit by a car and injured. The victim was taken to a hospital by private ambulance, indicating the injuries weren’t major, but that’s all we know at this point – they were still talking to people to try to figure out what happened; we’ll check back later. 5:40 PM: A few more details from Bill, who says word is that the car was headed westbound on Morgan, turning onto southbound 35th, when the pedestrian was hit.
ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: According to Lt. Alan Williams from the Southwest Precinct, the driver, a 63-year-old man, was cited for “right of way at a crosswalk.” The person he hit is a 38-year-old woman who suffered “non-life-threatening injuries.”
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
1:43 PM: On our way to a “heavy rescue” call north of The Junction, at 46th/Dakota.
1:57 PM UPDATE: It’s a one-vehicle rollover crash. Police are still trying to figure out how it rolled – but nobody is seriously hurt, so no medics were sent, and most of the “heavy rescue” response was canceled fairly quickly when it was determined they didn’t have to cut anyone out of the vehicle.
2:02 PM UPDATE: New information, and photo added. The overturned Jeep SUV collided with another vehicle at the nearby intersection; the other car lost a bumper, while this one flipped.
ADDED 2:39 PM: Two new photos, by WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli – one is atop the story, substituted for the original cameraphone photo; the other, showing the car that didn’t flip, is atop this line.
6:55 PM: The big response is en route to the 4600 block of SW Alaska (map), reported house fire. Will know more about the size as soon as we get there. 7:04 PM: There now. Only a small SFD contingent still there, smell of smoke but no smoke or fire visible, so not a huge incident. Still working on more info. 7:09 PM: Talked to the incident commander. Fire was contained to the dryer. The callout was briefly upgraded to “full response” for a house fire because at one point there was so much smoke, it looked bigger – but upon arrival they determined it was contained to the dryer, and it’s out now.
(5:22 PM NOTE: Still no info from police on cause/cited-or-not)
2:23 PM: We’re on our way to the 4800 block of California SW, where a car has reportedly crashed into a shop – east side of California, south of Edmunds, south end of The Junction. More in a moment.
(Photo added 3:06 pm – by Katie Meyer for WSB)
2:34 PM UPDATE: On scene now. The shop is California Nails. The car is all the way into the shop – “embedded,” as our crew puts it. Photo added. California is closed at the scene, south of Edmunds, at the moment. At least one person is hurt, and is on a stretcher.
2:43 PM UPDATE: We’re now told at least two people were hurt – a man has already been taken to the hospital, and a woman is being treated at the scene. (Update: The male driver was NOT hurt.) Fire crews tell us the injuries are NOT major. The shop owners tell WSB the woman was a customer “getting a fill” when they all heard a noise, and in came the car. Traffic south of the crash scene is being diverted westbound on Hudson. (Here’s scene video from WSB’er Kristina.) TV crews have arrived (and if you heard a chopper, that was KIRO).
(Video substituted 4:13 pm for original towing-out still photo)
2:57 PM UPDATE: That’s the car, which is being towed out of the shop.
(Photo by Katie Meyer for WSB)
3:18 PM UPDATE: It’s out now. Traffic still being diverted as of a few minutes ago. We’re continuing to add photos and video – as you can see from the angle immediately above, the crash did NOT take out the entirety of the storefront. But they’re closed at least for the rest of the day. A worker in a neighboring business told us the crash sounded and felt like an earthquake.
3:57 PM UPDATE: That photo shows the inside of the nail shop after the car was pulled out. We checked with Seattle Fire’s media team, and Lt. Sue Stangl tells us there actually was only one injury – the customer who ran out after the crash was barefoot and suffered some cuts. SPD’s official report is not in yet, so we don’t have details on cause/cited-or-not. They do tell us the scene has been opened back up to “routine traffic.”
2:26 PM: If you’ve seen the fire/police crews and/or heard the sirens – they’re headed for an “automobile rescue” call in the 7000 block of 16th SW (map). We’ll be there shortly.
2:34 PM: Adding a photo. Two people have been extricated by fire crews from a badly smashed-up car. We don’t know how serious their injuries are. There also is a pickup truck (toward the right side of the photo) that has hit a tree. Avoid this area, obviously, TFN.
2:42 PM: Scanner traffic indicates a report that one vehicle crossed the line before the collision. The victims from the car were taken to the hospital by private ambulance, which suggests the injuries may not be life-threatening. WSB contributor Katie Meyer says scanner traffic seems to confirm that; the people in the car were described as a male driver and female passenger, both adults, both on the way to Harborview Medical Center.
2:51 PM: Authorities on the scene tell WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand that the car with the two victims hit the pickup truck – which was already on the side of the street with damage from an earlier crash. This crash badly managed the car (additional photo here; note the top was cut off by fire crews) but did not cause much additional damage to the pickup. At this point, it does NOT look like the major investigation team is coming out, which indicates the road should be clear once wreckage is cleared up.
Thanks to Donna at Giannoni’s Pizza for sending that photo of a car crash at Westwood Village. More info to come, but from the first photos, looks like the car just nosed into one of the Pier 1 Imports front windows.
8:58 PM UPDATE: SPD tells us that just after 8 PM tonight, the woman driving the Toyota Camry jumped the curb and drove into the front window of Pier 1. They say it appears the car was parked out front and that she intended to put the car into reverse and pull away but accidentally put the car into drive. There were no injuries. Fire crews remain at the scene securing the broken glass and boarding up the window. The store manager tells us that a glass repair company is on the way and that the store will be open for business as usual tomorrow. Video and more photos to come.
9:30 PM UPDATE: Adding a few pictures from Christopher Boffoli:
10:26 PM UPDATE: Here’s Christopher’s brief video clip:
(Updated Wednesday morning with new information from Seattle Police)
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB, added 11:07 pm)
10:16 PM: Breaking right now – what appear to be SWAT officers making arrests in the 41st/Edmunds vicinity (map) on the south side of The Junction. Christopher Boffoli is there for WSB and says what he’s been told so far is that it’s a narcotics operation. The intersection’s blocked off, so steer clear TFN. More to come.
10:39 PM: Christopher says police at the scene confirm narcotics/SWAT officers involved, and that two people have been arrested. A car is being towed away. The intersection has just reopened.
11:30 PM: No additional details – and there may not be any before morning, if then (we’ll be checking the jail register, among other places to harvest info) – but also of note, both Christopher and WSB contributor Katie Meyer report that from observation in The Junction and from radio traffic, this was the result of a planned stakeout, with support units standing by for blocks around until the operation was over. (Christopher adds that Gang Unit detectives were seen participating, too.)
WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: New details from Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson: He says this was part of a “pretty extensive ongoing undercover narcotics operation – involving Gang Unit, Southwest Anti-Crime Team, and members of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.” Over the past month or so, he says, “they had been buying on several occasions from a pretty prolific drug trafficker and gangster … and yesterday they decided to do the ‘order up take down’.” They had just “concluded a transaction and moved in to make the arrest.” The suspect they were seeking is a 40-year-old with a felony criminal history; Det. Jamieson didn’t have information on what kind of drugs he allegedly was dealing, but says he was armed with a “stolen handgun” so he’s been booked into King County Jail on weapons charges as well as drug charges.
We just checked – he’s still in as of 8:30 this morning. (A quick check of his court record reveals a long list of cases, including a Court of Appeals case in he appealed his convictions for “multiple counts of driving while license suspended and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle,” challenging the terminology “immediately” rather than challenging the violations themselves. He lost.) Det. Jamieson says a 48-year-old woman was in the car with him, but she was released after being questioned at the Southwest Precinct.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB – added 1:31 am)
1:05 AM: Heavy-rescue call at 38th and Oregon – avoid the area. Christopher Boffoli is there for WSB. He says it’s an overturned car. The “heavy-rescue” part of it has been closed quickly – indicating fire/rescue crews not needed after all. But we’ve heard police say via scanner, the stop sign on the southeast corner of 39th and Oregon will need repair/replacement.
1:12 AM UPDATE: Christopher reports, “SPD tells me that there are no serious injuries despite the fact that one car overturned. It seemed everyone was wearing seat belts. An out-of-town driver missed a stop sign that was leaning way over and t-boned another car. Everyone is shook up but OK. SPD says no evidence alcohol or drugs are involved.”
1:41 AM UPDATE: Added photos, and here’s more info from Christopher: “It was a Mini versus a little Ford. … The woman driving the Mini was a designated driver for the night. She’s visiting from Boston. She was headed north on 38th and blew through the stop sign at Oregon (which) was leaning way over. Looks like someone hit it and no one noticed. Amazingly, there were barely a few scratches on the front bumper of the Mini. SPD said they considered it an accident and wouldn’t be citing anyone. The tow truck was just arriving a few minutes ago before I left. They should have Oregon open to traffic again within 15 minutes.”
(UPDATED 8:43 PM with new information from police – scroll down)
We’re in the south Admiral District, where the call “shots fired” crackled across the scanner a short time ago, after police responded to a home in the 3400 block of 44th SW (map). WSB’s Christopher Boffoli has talked with police – the presence at the scene includes precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen. It appears to have been a call involving dogs and at least one dog has apparently been shot. No word of any people being injured. Police were talking to two people at the home, including a woman who was clearly distraught. We don’t know at this point what brought police to the house in the first place. This is breaking and we’re still working on details. SPD is sending a public-information officer to the scene. It’s the second time in less than 2 weeks that a dog has been shot in a call involving West Seattle police – the last one involved a pit bull in Fauntleroy on New Year’s Eve. We have not confirmed the breed of the shot dog but at least one of the dogs involved was described as a pitbull on scanner traffic that we heard.
2:57 PM: Yes, the helicopter is related to this incident – channel 7 chopper. Still awaiting police-briefing info.
3:03 PM: From Christopher Boffoli, one of two WSB newspeople at the briefing: Police got the call 1:17 pm as a domestic disturbance. When they arrived, they heard a woman screaming inside the house. The door was unlocked and police went inside. The dogs charged officer, according to Det. Jeff Kappel, who says one dog was killed, one injured. A woman was taken into custody, suspected of misdemeanor domestic assault. Second dog is being treated. No confirmation on breeds. We’ll add video of the briefing once it’s processed.
3:47 PM: A few more details: Police believe the man and woman at the house are brother and sister. She was determined to be the “primary aggressor” in the disturbance – though neither she nor her brother was hurt – and that made it a “mandatory arrest” in terms of the original call, Det. Kappel says; she is to be booked into jail. He said after the “two large dogs” charged officers, one officer shot both. (briefing video in its entirety, added)
4:33 PM: Christopher took photos of the dog that survived, before it was taken to a clinic, and has just processed them. An animal-control officer arrived, and the dog was walking as it was taken away. But because you can see blood on its leg – the only sign that it was injured – we are putting the photo after a jump:
(8:28 PM UPDATE: Added video from the uprighting process; the dump truck’s just been towed away)
It’ll take one big tow truck to get that upside-down dump truck righted and taken away from behind Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (map). But we’re told the driver got out unhurt – and that no one else was hurt, either. Our crew at the scene is told that the driver apparently was coming down the SW Oregon hill but had brake trouble, tried to maneuver the truck to a safe stop, and somehow wound up this way. Per scanner traffic, it’ll be at least an hour before a big tow rig can make it to Youngstown to take care of this.
4:10 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Hollis and Phillippia with Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (which is based at Youngstown) for sending photos – our crew just got back to HQ and we’re checking theirs. We also got a note from Margaret, who says the truck’s load of dirt and mud covered some of the cars in the back lot (where Youngstown artist-loft residents live).
4:52 PM UPDATE: Christina points out via Facebook that you may have traffic trouble in the uphill turn to Oregon from Delridge – the tow truck was blocking the road at last report. Meantime, we’ve added our crew’s photo, above. And scanner traffic indicates the dump-truck driver may wind up going to a hospital to be checked out, after all.
8:26 PM UPDATE: As of about 20 minutes ago, the dump truck has been uprighted and towed away – just back from watching the conclusion of the laborious process:
Ken’s Towing brought out a big rig and first pulled the upside-down truck to a right-side-up position (our video shows the second half of that) – then after a lot of securing, finally pulled it along the south Youngstown driveway and off toward The Bridge.
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