West Seattle, Washington
15 Saturday
(Added: WSB photo)
11:25 AM: A Seattle Fire “rope rescue” response is arriving at the Admiral/Stevens entrance to Schmitz Park [map]. The call is described as a man in his 30s falling down an embankment and unable to get out on his own.
11:31 AM: SFD is calling for SPD help blocking Admiral Way while the rescue continues.
11:35 AM: Firefighters told dispatchers the man is not believed to have major injuries – his main complaint so far is leg pain.
11:41 AM: SFD says the man is “directly under the bridge” – if you’ve been to Schmitz Park, you know how steep that embankment is.
11:54 AM: Added a photo as they work to lift the man out. SFD confirms to us at the scene that he has only minor injuries and will be taken to a hospital by private ambulance.
(Added: WSB photo)
11:56 AM: He’s out, firefighters just told dispatch. … (Added above a minute later, photo from our crew.)
1:36 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response to Beach Drive/Genesee. Dispatch says the report is of a paddleboarder 20 yards off shore, bleeding, yelling for help. Updates to come.
1:39 PM: They’ve revised the location to SW Carroll, which is Weather Watch Park (across from La Rustica).
1:40 PM: The person is now reported to be out of the water, and the response is being downsized to a low-level medical response.
2:38 PM: And now another water-rescue response dispatched, this time to the 5200 block of Beach Drive for a possible kite-surfer in distress.
2:45 PM: So far nobody in trouble – responders report seeing a kite-surfer “stand back up” on their board.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: Even after SFD closed their response, the Coast Guard stayed in the area a while. Danny McMillin sent the photo above showing what kind of seas they faced.
6:01 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response to Lincoln Park, land and sea. SFD reports it’s for a “male swimming in possible distress.” Updates to come.
6:05 PM: One of the crews on scene reports they’ve located the person “15 yards out, standing in the water.” … And a moment later, they report he’s “walking out of the water,” so they’re downsizing the response.
6:21 PM: We talked to the incident commander on the scene, who confirmed that the person is fine and was just out swimming.
7:12 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response to the 2100 block of Harbor SW because of a report of “someone in the water” – in the Jack Block Park area.
7:20 PM: Responders are clarifying that the original report was that someone was heard yelling from the water “south of Salty’s.” Crews are trying to figure out whether the best access is from Jack Block Park or the shore by Salty’s.
7:29 PM: They’re searching the area from land and sea.
7:36 PM: Our crew at the scene confirms that this started with someone who heard someone yelling. Searchers haven’t found anyone or anything, and no one who saw anything, nor has anything more been heard, so they’ve declared “no victim found” and are winding down the response.
8:42 PM: Thanks to 22blades in comments for pointing out that the Coast Guard has had a helicopter searching just to be certain no one’s out there (SFD has closed out of the call).
10:37 PM: Avoid the 4700 block of Delridge Way SW [map] for a while – SFD is sending a “rescue extrication” response for a crash with one person reported trapped in a car.
10:50 PM: Firefighters have freed the driver, a man, from the car. He’ll be taken to the hospital by SFC medics.
11:01 PM: Firefighters have also reported a second injured person who will be transported by private ambulance.
11:19 PM: Police just told dispatch that southbound Delridge is reopening.
ADDED SATURDAY: This is being investigated as suspected DUI.
1:22 AM: SPD and SFD are responding to what was dispatched as a car-on-side crash at California/Dakota. No word yet if anyone’s hurt.
1:26 AM: This is being upgraded to a “rescue extrication” response. Three people are reported to be inside the vehicle. California is blocked at Andover.
1:30 AM: The three people reported as trapped in the vehicle are all described as “alert and conscious.”
1:41 AM: Adding photos from WSB’s Katie Meyer at the scene. Firefighters are working to extricate the trapped people:
1:43 AM: “Patients extricated,” firefighters have just told dispatch.
10:30 AM: This is being investigated as DUI. Meantime, we’re still waiting to hear back from SFD on injuries.
1 PM: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells WSB, “All three occupants were in stable condition and declined transportation to a hospital.”
6:54 PM: SPD and SFD have a ‘scenes of violence’ response near 14th/Barton. We are en route.
(WSB photo)
7:09 PM: Police and fire are on 14th south of Barton. They tell us this actually turned out not to be an assault, but rather a person with a pre-existing medical condition who’s been taken to a hospital.
1:24 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response to Seacrest after a report of a person in the water “at the Water Taxi dock.” Updates to come.
(Photo tweeted by Kristin)
1:27 PM: Arriving units are telling dispatch this is a person they believe to be in crisis, an 18-year-old woman, in “waist-deep water” but not appearing to be “in distress.”
(Photo sent by Dwight)
1:38 PM: They’re still working to get her out of the water (the challenge, they’re telling dispatch, is that she’s “not quite interested in coming out of the water” so this might take a while). Note that Water Taxi traffic is “shut down” while this continues.
2:07 PM: The woman is now out of the water and on a stretcher, they’re telling dispatch. She’s being evaluated.
2:32 PM: She’s being taken to a hospital.
12:14 PM: Thanks to Steve for the photo. Avoid 35th SW at and north of Roxbury. An incident involving two buses, a power pole, and power lines has blocked 35th both ways. No injuries reported, and everyone’s out of the buses, but SPD, SFD, and Metro are all arriving at the scene.
12:24 PM: SPD says this started when another vehicle hit a power pole, causing it to fall onto the two buses. Our crew in the area reports 35th is blocked at Cambridge (both ways).
(SDOT traffic-camera photo)
12:30 PM: We talked to a sergeant at the scene who says there was NOT a third vehicle – the RapidRide bus was letting someone off, the 120 bus was coming by and may have had some kind of mechanical problem, and wound up hitting the pole. City Light has arrived is awaited at the scene to deal with the downed wires as well as the pole.
(WSB photo)
This may remain blocked for a while, so if you need to go east/west in the south end, use Barton instead.
2:55 PM: Thanks to the texter who sent the photo above, showing the downed pole. At the site right now, the buses are gone, but City Light remains:
(SDOT camera photo)
4:16 PM: Still there working on it.
4:36 PM: Though there was no initial outage at this scene, the map shows 17 customers out in the immediate area of the downed pole for about an hour now (separate from the earlier weather-related outages elsewhere in West Seattle). A commenter says the crew at the scene is awaiting a new pole.
5:49 PM: Looks like the pole’s being placed:
7:44 PM: Thanks to Tiffany for the update in comments – the street has finally reopened.
3;26 PM: A Seattle Fire “rescue extrication” response is headed for California/Hanford [map], where a two-vehicle crash – one on its side – is reported. Updates to come.
(Photo tweeted by @wattorney)
3:31 PM: SFD is downsizing the response – everyone is reported safely out of the vehicles.
(Texted photo)
3:52 PM: No major injuries – medic units were all dismissed from the call. This was on the southbound side of California so continue avoiding the area for a while. (The nearby traffic camera’s “live” image is here.)
3:56 PM: All remaining SFD units are leaving the scene.
4:16 PM: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells us that firefighters treated at the scene “a 25-year-old female and an infant who are both in stable condition and did not require transportation to a hospital.” Meantime, the road is back open.
6:05 PM: SFD is sending a water-rescue response to Alki/Marine. Possibly 2 people in trouble in the water. Updates to come.
6:11 PM: Sounds like everyone is OK & response is being downsized. We just arrived at Alki to check.
(Added: Photo by David Hutchinson)
6:16 PM: SFD tells us at the scene that paddleboarders brought in a person who is being checked out by medics.
(WSB photo)
6:57 PM: SFD says the woman who was rescued is being taken to the hospital. (See comments below for added details on the rescue.)
9:24 PM: Police and Fire have responded to a house on Belvidere alongside Fairmount Ravine for a “scenes of violence” callout. Medics tell dispatch they’re treating a man, believed to be in his 40s, for a gunshot wound. No word on the circumstances so far.
9:47 PM: The wounded man is reported to have been taken to Harborview by SFD medic unit.
11:28 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a “rescue extrication” response to what’s described by the dispatcher as a “rollover” at 55th/Alki. Updates to come.
11:32 PM: Arriving units report a car on its side. The response is being downsized – apparently no major injuries.
11:52 PM: Added texted photos (thank you!). Texter reports road closed both ways.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: The call classification indicates a DUI investigation associated with the crash.
12:38 PM: Thanks to the texter who tipped us about what’s logged as a “marine service response” off Harbor/Alki Avenues. They report the West Seattle Water Taxi “rescued (a person) who had turtled his craft and couldn’t get it upright.” SFD sent fireboats. We’re following up.
12:42 PM: We’ve also heard from Karen, who was on the Water Taxi when this happened, and reports the rescue involved an “overturned sailboat off Duwamish Head,” adding, “We were on the water taxi when it diverted from the route to rescue them. Kudos to the crew!”
1:08 PM: Thanks to Rodney for the through-a-telescope photo. Meantime, we’re hoping to get more rescue details from Metro (which manages the Water Taxi).
2 PM: Our original texter, Roxanne, says the Coast Guard has brought the sailboat in. (added) Doug and Shari sent this photo:
3:18 PM: Here’s what we just received from Water Taxi/Metro spokesperson Al Sanders in response to our inquiry (photos included):
The crew of the West Seattle Water Taxi Doc Maynard rescued two boaters whose sailboat capsized off Duwamish Head shortly after 12:00 p.m.
The Doc Maynard had just left West Seattle’s Seacrest Dock on its 12:00 p.m. sailing to downtown Seattle when the crew spotted two people in the water next to a capsized sailboat.
The water taxi pulled next to the sailboat and deployed their rescue platform and life sling, but the two people were unable to use the sling.
One of the crew of the Doc Maynard then got into the boat’s rescue suit, went into the water, and assisted the people into the sling and onto the water taxi.
The Doc Maynard returned to Seacrest Dock with rescued passengers of the boat and were met by Coast Guard. The boaters worked with the Coast Guard to retrieve their capsized vessel.
After bringing the boaters to the dock, the Doc Maynard resumed its regular schedule.
(SDOT camera image from Twitter)
2:05 PM: A big emergency response for a collision is blocking the California/Edmunds/Erskine intersection. Updates to come.
2:22 PM: We just got there and the scene is now clear, street reopened, SPD tells us via email that a pedestrian was taken to Harborview after being hit by a driver. We’ll check with SFD on their condition.
3:22 PM: SFD says the person who was hit is a 66-year-old man, in stable condition when transported.
11:55 PM: Police and fire are going to 61st/Admiral for a report of a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound. No word yet on circumstances. The victim is being assessed at a home. Updates to come.
12:08 AM: They’re still trying to figure out exactly where this happened, officers are telling dispatch.
12:13 AM: The victim is being taken to Harborview. Initial assessment over emergency radio described him as “conscious and alert” with a bullet wound near an eye.
12:19 AM: Police say they were told “the shooter was on a motorcycle.”
12:25 AM: They’re blocking off Admiral between 61st and 62nd, as well as 62nd itself, while they investigate. They’ve reported finding two “victim vehicles” on 62nd, possibly indicating bullet damage. (Added: Or, per commenters, other damage.)
12:55 AM: No further updates so far. More info should be forthcoming from SPD once a report is filed later this morning.
1:01 AM: Streets are reopening. Meantime, for context, it’s been a little over a month since four people were shot at the beach, on fatally; a suspect was arrested and charged, and remains in jail, bail set at $2 million.
ADDED 1:44 PM: We just talked to SPD spokesperson Det. Valerie Carsen. She says there’s not much more information about this: After being shot, the victim crashed his car into a parked car near 62nd/Admiral and went to a nearby house to get help. He couldn’t/wouldn’t tell officers where or when it happened – aside from, as mentioned above, that the shooter might have been someone on a motorcycle. Officers did not locate shell casings or other evidence anywhere in the area so they couldn’t independently verify a crime scene. SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley tells us the victim was “in stable condition” when transported.
10:17 AM: Northbound 26th SW is already closed south of Westwood Village because of road work; you’ll want to avoid the southbound side for a while too, as Seattle Fire is there for a gas-leak response.
10:33 AM: Southbound 26th is also closed at Barton. We can’t get close enough to ask questions but a crew is working on it.
2:45 PM: Since this is the construction zone for King County-led road work related to bus routing, we tracked down information from Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer, who tells WSB:
At about 9:45 a.m. Seattle Fire crews arrived in response to a natural gas leak in the construction zone in the northbound lanes of 26th Avenue SW, halfway between SW Barton and SW Cambridge streets. The southbound lanes were closed while Puget Sound Energy and fire crews worked to identify and contain the leak. According to preliminary information, a crew for the contractor was sawcutting concrete panels near the middle of the roadway and cut into a 1-inch-diameter natural gas service line that was just below the depth of the roadway. No injuries were reported. The southbound roadway is estimated to remain closed until 8 p.m. while crews replace the gas line at a proper depth. The southbound roadway will reopen to traffic once work is complete; the northbound roadway remains closed and under construction for the coming months.
7:30 PM: SB 26th is open again.
11:33 AM: Seattle Fire has just dispatched another water-rescue response to Seacrest. This time the dispatch was “possible diver having a problem, could be related to (the situation) from last night.” We are headed there to find out more.
(Added: WSB photo)
11:39 AM: The dispatcher has told rescuers that divers reported seeing a person in 35′ of water, 100′ offshore. (We hadn’t received word of recovery of last night’s victim since SPD took over late last night.)
11:53 AM: So far it does appear to be a recovery – the person found by divers is described as showing “no signs of life” and they’re calling for the Medical Examiner.
Also a traffic note: If you’re driving down California Way, you can’t turn right onto Harbor because of the response vehicles on Harbor on the east side of Seacrest. (Our crew has just confirmed this.)
12:08 PM: After bringing the person’s body out of the water, SFD is downsizing the response. They’ve dispatched a public-information officer so we hope to have official word before too long on whether this is indeed believed to be the person who went missing last night – there’ve been no additional reports today of anyone missing or in trouble.
12:29 PM: We’ve talked with SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley at Seacrest. She says it’s up to the Medical Examiner to say for sure whether it’s the same person who went missing last night, the description is the same – a woman in her 30s. And we’ve confirmed with an SPD sergeant at the scene that SPD did not recover a body last night after taking over last night’s recovery operation. (Added: Here’s video of Tinsley explaining the responses last night and today:)
NOTE: Our archives show this was the first diver death in the area since August 2016, when another student diver died.
ADDED: The diver who died has been identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as 33-year-old Yuyu Xu.
(Photo sent by Carolyn Newman)
10:05 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response by land and sea to the Seacrest vicinity. The dispatcher has told responders it’s a report of two diving students missing, reported by their instructor. Updates to come.
10:09 PM: This has been updated to one diver missing, in the Honey Bear (Cove 2) vicinity.
10:19 PM: Search continues. As shown in the photo above, crews on land are using a fire-truck ladder to help search.
10:29 PM: Rescue divers are searching, as well as crews in boats and on land; SPD is part of the response as well as SFD. The missing diver was described in an early dispatch as a woman in her 30s.
10:55 PM: The search continues.
11:04 PM: The medic units have been dismissed from the response (thanks to Aaron for that tip from the scene), which indicates this has switched into more of a recovery mode.
11:18 PM: SFD says this is now an SPD-led search.
1:30 AM: No further updates. We’ll check with SPD later this morning.
4 PM: A Seattle Fire callout has arrived in the 2900 block of SW Myrtle in High Point to check out a reported gas leak. No other details so far.
4:03 PM: Firefighters have told dispatch the problem was apparently in the kitchen and they’re looking to cut off gas “to the entire building.” (The address is for the True-living Church, mentioned here recently because of a redevelopment plan.)
4:11 PM: The response is winding down.
9:12 PM: Thanks to the texters who have reported that crash at 35th/Avalon, including one who sent a photo. (206-293-6302 is our hotline, any time.) Police and SFD medics have responded, One texter says buses are rerouting. No indication of major injuries so far – just one engine sent.
9:40 PM: The crash is still blocking the southbound side of the intersection, as shown on the SDOT traffic cam, which also shows police directing traffic there.
9:58 PM: Tow truck(s) now in view.
10:11 PM: Our original texter reports, and the camera confirms, the scene is clear, We’re checking with SFD re: injuries.
12:10 AM: SFD says they treated two women, 31 and 51, but neither was hurt badly enough to need hospitalization.
8:41 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a water-rescue response – by land and sea – to 62nd/Alki, where “someone appears to be drowning,” according to the dispatcher’s description of what was called in. Updates to come.
8:46 PM: This involves a vessel of some type. The Coast Guard also is responding.
8:50 PM: An SFD fireboat is reported to have arrived an is “making contact” with the person in the water. The person is reported to NOT be in distress, so most of the responding units are being dismissed.
(Added: Photo by David Hutchinson)
8:55 PM: The person who was in the water has been brought on board an SFD boat.
8:59 PM: Thanks to those who’ve emailed (the photo above is from Kevin) noting that, as is usual in incidents like this, some SFD units went to Don Armeni Boat Ramp (usually as standby for possible transfer of a patient brought in by boat).
10:02 PM: Firefighters and police are at 45th and Glenn right now on the west side of The Junction, tending to an injured motorcyclist. Witnesses say he was the victim of a hit-run driver. Medics have told dispatch that the victim is a. 46-year-old man, conscious and alert, possibly with a fracture.
(Texted photo)
10:19 PM: The victim is being taken to the hospital.
10:27 PM: One neighbor who was at the scene says, “From talking to neighbors no one got a good look at the car but heard it dragging its bumper. Big props to a nurse practitioner neighbor who evaluated the hit motorcyclist before aid arrived.”
10:43 PM: Added a photo of the bike – technically a scooter rather than motorcycle.
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