Big accident south of Ballard Bridge

Posted by Geeky Swedes on January 30th, 2009

Update 10:15 p.m.: A high-speed collision along 15th Ave. near the Interbay Golf Center this afternoon sent three people to the hospital and created long traffic backups lasting into the night. For approximately 6 hours, police detoured southbound traffic over Ballard Bridge while they investigated, diverting cars to Fremont. Just before 10 p.m., the bridge reopened.

Seattle Police say a high-speed Toyota Highlander heading toward Ballard hit a total of three other vehicles while swerving in and out of traffic, even driving against traffic in the southbound lanes. After hitting one car and fleeing the scene, the suspect ultimately collided head-on with a Honda CRV, spinning into a Mini Cooper, police say. Two women were trapped in the CRV, and medics had to cut the top off the vehicle to extract them. One is in critical condition. The suspect is at Harborview and is expected to survive.

This is the scene from KIRO-TV’s chopper, which covered the rescue as it unfolded (see photos). Over on KOMOtv.com, commenters who said they witnessed the crash described the scene. “The driver went in the middle lane (for turning only) and was speeding at least 70 miles per hour,” said one. “This whole situation is worse than any movie I’ve ever seen,” said another who said she tended to the injuries before the medics arrived.

See comments below for running traffic updates from My Ballard readers…

Tags: Ballard Facebook

SPG

I think that a lot of people here are misinterpreting some of the comments/frustrations. Some are out of line re: personal inconveniences vs tragedy, but the reality is that we all understand that there was a horrible accident. Horrible collisions happen. Fires happen. The problem is that SPD didn't seem like they were taking an appropriate response. If SPD put out a city wide ban on all vehicle traffic for 24 hours everyone would agree that's too much. Letting everyone drive right through the middle of the scene wouldn't be enough. So where's the appropriate response so that SPD/SFD can do their job and those not involved can still do theirs? If the bridge were open would there be enough police to direct traffic in Magnolia? Was closing the bridge the only way to keep traffic away? Those are the questions that were causing the frustration, not any particular lack of sympathy to the victims. To us on the outside, closing a stretch of 15th seemed reasonable and necessary, but closing the bridge for hours seemed like overkill.
For the past decade Seattle has had a bad history of too little then too much of a response to everything from protests to snow as if someone is playing by some written policy with no sense of what is actually happening on the ground.

randi

Some of these comments have me floored as to how selfish and insensitive people can truly be. Big effing deal that you can't make it to your movie on a friday night. Violins.

Accident investigation is extremely tedious and time consuming and is no easy task, so kudos to the cops for wanting to be thorough. I can imagine when some idiot is speeding and threatening others' lives, it is probably more of a motivation to log as much info and evidence as possible. I will never understand why people are so careless and irrational in traffic. I hope it was worth it for the person speeding and they will spend the rest of their life thinking about what they have done.

Joel

Wow I am surprised to see the picture of the Toyota Highlander... None other than a Ballard/Crown Hill resident. He lives on 12th ave NW abput 95th/96th. I recognize the aftermarket chrome wheels.

Queen Anne Boy

I'm think JS has it correct. Now that I know the accident location, not routing thru Magnolia is inexcusable. I spent 2 hours traveling from Ballard to Queen Anne via Fremont. The exit at the south end of the Ballard Bridge to Magnolia was in no way involved in the accident investigation and would have routed traffic well away from the accident scene. This is reminiscent of the way Metro handled the snow in December. It took too long for them to determine the reasonable solution was to run the buses up and down the main transit lanes instead of canceling routes because they go to impassable neighborhoods. I am continually amazed how government officials miss the big picture. BTW, barring mental illness or a seizure, the perp deserves serious jail time away from the rest of us.

nina

Haha jm... man, not a thread can go by without a old vs new discussion.

Hasfrau

So any update on the victims???

jm

Pretty sad story. Do you think the drunk reckless driver lived in a condo or was he one of Old Ballard's finest citizens?

Bark more, Wag less

Relying on KUOW? What were they talking about, gardening? How to keep your crocus alive in the winter? Or the latest installment of confused sexual identity book of the week club?

For this stuff try KOMO 1000 am. I got back to Ballard on 99, looped up to 85th and over. Took an extra 15-20 minutes. Thanks KOMO!

Good fun seeing all the lefties suddenly calling for stiff penalties for this maniac.

seattlemuse

Wish I had an iPhone to check this site, rather than relying on NPR. Was coming home from downtown, and heard on the radio of an accident on 15th Ave NW in Ballard closing off Southbound lanes.

Thought I'd cleverly avoid the mess by sneaking up from Elliot, and ended up on top of it! They were routing us by the thousands through Queen Anne at that point. Kinda funny - who the hell knows their way around QA? At every 4-way stop, there was a 10 minute wait. I'm sure the residents thought a rebel army had invaded their kingdom! haha

Do Unto Others As...

To those complaining about backups, re-routes, or longer drive times when somebody has been seriously injured or killed:

I for one am not buying into the idea that the inconvenience caused to you and your drive time by a tragedy like this collision even merits a mention. Shame on you.

Bella

Maybe they felt the need to close the bridge to keep traffic from driving through their crime scene, as it was stated above that the suspect was driving into oncoming traffic. That makes sense to me.
Why complain? You can't do anything about it.
Also, if you don't think this is a real city, why bother living here?

milo dakkat

Every time I hear that the "the suspect is at Harborview and is expected to survive" I want to go over there and finish him off with a baseball bat myself...

especially when there are innocent victims who's lives have been destroyed. It could have been any one of us driving to or from Ballard.

So what if your stupid bridge was closed--just be glad it wasn't you or your loved ones that were involved.

These type of accidents scare the crap out of me and really piss me off.

scrumbum

mickey - if biff's a troll then you should have known better than to feed him, you could have always sent the blog owners your concerns via pm. it's nice that you have appointed yourself the board's school marm.

michncraig

Going 70 in the turn lane resulting in a horrible accident?

They should be jailed wether they were drunk or not.

Let's remember who caused all this drama, and it wasn't the cops.

js

to complain about the in sane road closures, is not to diminish the tragedy in anyway. If the driver was drunk i hope he is jailed. The ballard bridge should not have been affectted the way it was. Love all the snipers on Myballard.

AJ

Somewhere in Sunset Hill -- You are correct. If someone dies in an auto accident or has critical injuries may die as a result of a car accident, the accident scene is a crime scene and a full investigation begins (measurements of car locations and debris, photographs, etc. are taken) in addition to all the other work (witness reporting, clean-up, HazMat, etc.).

I was at the Seattle Center -- leaving at about 3:20 and things were already backed-up (on Mercer) from people trying to re-route from Western/15th. On the radio they said there was a serious accident.

Since I know close they roads when there are deaths or serious injuries I just thought, a reminder to pay attention in the car and slow down--and I say a quick "good-luck" to the injured people, "good luck" to the good samaritans/first-responders who help before Medics arrive, and "good luck" to all the people who had to witness such a terrible accident.

Crappy Shit

To all the putrefied pus sacks complaining about the traffic re-routes: SHUT UP! Okay, so you come from a big city. AND? AND? So, in a big city the value of human lives are minimized to your personal satisfaction? Wow, we are SO much better off for having small minded, self centered cretins like you here in our backwater village....

Nordic Woman

It took me an hour to get from Sunset Hlll to the Swedish Club on Dexter 9via 39th, Biff.) SO WHAT? If it takes the police/state patrol that long to get evidence against this idiot so he doesn't walk away in court, so be it.I have lived here my entire life, and it is an exceptionally rare occurance to have the bridge shut down.

I second the motion to Ban Biff, Also , Biff, if you dislike it here so much, don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out of town.

ballardess

i can't believe how shallow you people are complaining about the traffic. imagine if that was one of your loved ones who got hit? that's just horrible and disappointing that you'd be worried about your stupid commute.

The Raven

On reviewing further facts, I see that the driver who cut me off did so after the accident and going in the other direction. It's a jungle out there. Krawk!

gooner

js you are totally right. the police are stupid and they put out a lot of people.

they had no reason to do this.... they just decided to put up their cones with NO REASON WHAT SO EVER. they should be fired.

people almost died? so what

there is a criminal investigation? so what

WE NEED TO GET HOME.

JS and Biff, let's start a club and call it "irrational idiots who think that our 'rights' are more important than anything else"

The Raven

Oh, my family feasts tonight. And the trolls think they know better than the cops--may all their vowels fall out. I think I saw the perp, not long before this disaster. A small truck cut me off in Fremont, right at Stone Way and N 34th street. I was coming north through the intersection and a light truck shot in from of me and turned right, coming from the east. The driver was going fast, and with intense concentration on what was in front of them and nothing else. Meth?

krawk!

js

The ballard bridge should not have been affected,period. not for 6 hrs. ridiculous. We have to do better than that. This is a main highway on a friday nite at rush hour.

Somewhere in Sunset Hill

I think -- and I could be wrong about this -- that the State Patrol is involved in traffic accident investigations where there has been a fatality or a critical injury that could become a fatality.

It becomes a bigger operation than clearing the debris, towing cars, and reopening lanes of traffic. I think WSP does a thorough investigation with measurements, photos, markings on road, etc. And it takes hours.

Anyone know whether this is true? I was told this by a Sheriff's deputy once, but it was also in another county.

Geeky Swedes

Yep, the bridge is back open. Just updated the post. Thanks everyone for the updates throughout the afternoon and evening!

mickey

scrumbum - Biff is more than just a narcissist. He's a sicko. And a troll. Trolls get banned from blogs all the time.

Have you ever run a blog? I have. Blog owners get to decide when trolls should be banned. If the Geeky Swedes choose to let Biff spew his creepiness here, that is their choice and their right.

I registered my opinion and I stand by it.

jburgh

Because of the accident, the DH, along with the other riders were dropped off the #18 bus, right across the street from the golf course around 4:30pm. As he walked past, he said there were bunches of empty little liquor bottles scattered around the street. He wondered if they had been in the Highlander.

nina

All I gotta say is... if a drunk driver hit me going 70mph, I hope they close the road down to do an investigation and put them behind bars for a long time. 6 hours or 12 hours, the victims deserve to see the other driver in jail.

I went 99 to 65 and it added 10 minutes to my commute. No big deal.

jenny

Ok peeps, I just saw a bunch of cars go go by.. I believe the bridge is finally open to southbound traffic :)

scrumbum

mickey, biff's opinions may be offensive to you and I, but I'm more worried about your attempt to censor than biff's narcissistic tendencies.

alvin

My friend and I saw a helicopter in the sky just hovering now I know why thanks!

js

the ballard bridge, and dravus exits should not have been affected the way they were, for such an extended time, period.

jenny

ballard bridge: not a crime scene

joe

right, this is a crime scene, hence the long delay.

mickey

Geeky Swedes -

Putting in my request that Biff be banned from this blog.

kim

js et al-

spd is just doing their job to get ALL the evidence to get this looser off the street and (heaven forbid) if one of the victim dies, they will need all the evidence they can get to put the idiot away. i know it's a hassle.

js

I am sorry for the people who got hurt, but for the life of me iwill never understand why the roads were shut down for 6hrs. There is no excuse. Anyone have one? I was not in the traffic jam, but had employees who could not get to work. Ridiculous

ballardgirl

i was coming home from a funeral in west seattle, when i heard about the accident - so i went north 99 to 65th - then came over west - missed all this traffic. i 'googled' to find the accident...nothing....came to myballard.com - there it is - front page! nice job guys!!

normally i would be very compassionate, but if someone is going 70mph in the turn only lane...... i don't know how i feel about that.....'stupid is as stupid does'... MOVIE?

jenny

I still see the same flow of cars coming from Nickerson onto 15th

Biff

HARK! -see my rant worked. Alas, it's clear at 39th and Leary.

dvacc

Sat in traffic from 5-6 and then finally was able to get over the bride. I'm saying some prayers for the people in the accident and everyone who helped out with that.

Biff

Actually I live on 39th, hence the problem. I was planning on going to dinner and a movie on broadway but the city decided to shut down an entire bridge for an accident that occured FIVE EFFING HOURS AGO. The only time I like to see the city parked outside my door is when people are parading nekkid through my street.
"Would you like me to tell you how I know?" Having lived in real big cities, this is a joke, they don't shut down a bridge.

kim

Hasfrau--

ouch!

Hasfrau

I know I am opening a can of worms, but in light of traffic tonight, are two lanes of tunnel traffic with no Western dump really going to suffice???

AMC

Just got home via Fremont Bridge northbound. Southbound traffic was at a complete standstill.

lakreitz

biff,
would knowing that the victims could spend months spent at the hospital and a rehab facility make you happy? Or is wasting healthcare $$ a bigger no-no than wasting your precious time? Were you anxious to get home to log on to your computer and surf the web? You were stuck on 39th? Maybe that's because you were hoping someone died.

As it is now, the victims' families are sitting at Harborview and their lives just turned to sh#% in the blink of an eye. It will stay that way for a very long time. Would you like me to tell you how I know? I've sat there at Harborview and waited, and waited and then waited some more. I wish I'd been waiting in traffic on 39th where I could have at least parked my car and walked home or to a nearby bar.

Norbeck

@14 Death will make the wait OK? Well, here's hoping...

Nubbee

i know traffic sucks, but wishing death is a jerky thing to do.

Heather

I heard on the #18 bus that buses will be rerouted until 10pm tonight.

I Know

Thanks the updates guys...I really appreciate it!

jenny

Still closed for southbound traffic... I only see buses crossing the bridge.
:S

biff

better be deaths as Im gridlocked at place on 39th.

nina

It is still not opened.

michncraig

I don't see why they wouldn't let you cross re bridge and go to magnolia.

Hasfrau

It wasn't 40 minutes ago. If you can, just go 99. Took me an hour to get from Magnolia to Ballard. I pitied the poor SOB's being routed under the bridge to Fremont...

michncraig

10 min ago it looked like they were detouring southbound traffic north of the bridge. Northbound was open.

I Know

Does anybody know if it is open going southbound?

amm

Ballard Bridge is open. The 15X (northbound) I was on rerouted through magnolia. There are no buses between the magnolia bridge and dravus but traffic is moving north of dravus. I'm not sure about southbound.

lakreitz

Positive thoughts to the accident victims.

Props to Metro for rerouting buses so quickly. The huge articulated bus pulled a U-turn at the entrance to the driving range and headed to Magnolia. Vehicles were not permitted to do the same.

I Know

If somebody happens to notice that they have opened up the Ballard Bridge....could you post for all those waiting it out....Thanks!

jill

i got an email from my kids' daycare, which is off of Nickerson, at 4:30pm saying they were told it would be 3 hours before things were cleared up. my understanding is that the ballard bridge is open northbound via the nickerson st. onramp. drive safe everybody!

IntegralPoker

4:40 PM: I'm on an 18 bus. Southbound traffic all being rerouted through Fremont; Leary Way NW is packed. If you're going downtown, go towards 99.

April

komo has some info and a pretty horrible photo.

http://www.komonews.com/news/38725577.html

James

430. Still going on. Metro buses from downtown are being rerouted up into Magnolia.

puggles

That's why I love this blog. I came on here first to see why I couldn't get over the bridge and wasn't disappointed by the blog. You guys are great.

God bless the people involved in the accident.