Emergency crews responded tonight to the busy pedestrian area on Pine between Cal Anderson Park and the Odd Fellows building after a person was struck by an automobile near the intersection with 10th Ave. Three units responded to the incident which happened around 6:30 PM. Reports from the scene note that the impact happened with enough force to crack the windshield on the metallic colored Volkswagen that struck the victim. The victim was transported from the scene by the Seattle Fire Department’s Medic 1 ambulance indicating that injuries sustained in the incident are serious.
The area where the car came to a stop is just west of the crosswalk that connect the park to the Odd Fellows building and the Pike/Pine neighborhood.
UPDATE 8:10 PM: According to Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen, the victim was a 37-year-old female who was transported to Harborview for treatment of serious head lacerations. Vander Houwen said it appears that the woman’s serious injuries were not life threatening. We do not have information from Harborview about the woman’s status at this time. Information available to SFD indicates that the woman was not in the crosswalk at the time she was hit but we’ll follow up with the police department to try to learn more about any investigation into the incident.
Photo: Scott/Central District News
My son and I were coming home from the grocery store and saw a bit of this. The windshield took quite the beating but nothing compared to the person. Don’t quite know for certain but it looked like the person hit was jaywalking.
I also saw the aftermath of the accident – the ambulances, the cracked windshield of the car that struck the pedestrian. The accident happened near a pedestrian crossing in one of the busiest areas for foot traffic in the neighborhood. I don’t know the circumstances, but there is absolutely no excuse for a car to hit a person in this congested area.
Drivers simply need to be more cautious where there are lots of people on the streets. Why drive so fast that you can’t react if someone unexpectedly steps in front of your car? Please, you are in control of a dangerous machine and the responsibility is on you, the driver, to go the extra mile to preserve life and safety. Drive at a safe speed – it’s that simple.
No excuse unless they were jaywalking.
I agree. I am always freaked out driving in that area at that time of day. There are so many pedestrians. It’s critical to go slow.
Assuming driver wasn’t on the phone, speeding, texting or under the influence (if so, I withdraw the following statement) I feel bad for both parties.
It is also against the law to dart out in front of a car even in a crosswalk.
I often cross north on Pine when getting off the bus at Belmont. The bus often stops for a prolonged period (it’s a busy stop) and the driver allows people to pass – in the crosswalk – in front of it. Cars always speed around the bus (often a trolley) heading east on Pine. I’ve either been nearly hit or seen people nearly hit numerous times…tonight was no exception. Even if you stop to peak around the corner down the street to confirm that it’s clear drivers will see the pedestrians and purposefully avoid eye contact while speeding pass. Last week someone slowed to allow me to cross and then sped up and past at the last minute. It totally pisses me off.
I walk to and from work 5x a week from SLU to my home in East Cap Hill and cannot tell you how often cars almost hit me, and I *never* jaywalk because I simply don’t trust people and am paranoid – a lot of drivers are just too aggressive especially during peak hours of commute. these incidents should be a reminder for both peds and drivers that saving a couple of minutes off your commute is NOT worth sacrificing safety.
Please do not spend your money at neighborhood businesses that have retail parking lots (like Elliott Bay Books). These businesses attract drivers from outside of the neighborhood and city who are not used to a dense, pedestrian environment.
Drivers will continue to injure and kill pedestrians as long as businesses like Elliott Bay Books continue to encourage a dangerous environment. Plenty of other local businesses thrive without having to resort to hurting our neighbors.
Good grief. Talk about ridiculous statement.
Rodney King we need you! Can’t we all just get along?
Wait–what? You are asking us not to support businesses with parking lots? That would mean no groceries from just about anywhere. I don’t know that this sort of boycott would get the results you are looking for.
Rather than boycotting businesses with parking, wouldn’t it make more sense to petition for closure of streets to car access to create walking districts? With all the new condos and apartments going in we are going to see more car traffic in the area with or without retail parking.
“It is also against the law to dart out in front of a car even in a crosswalk.” actually pedestrians have the right of way at a crosswalk. as someone who walks, busses, drives, and scoots, do i get pissed off when a pedestrian crosses in front of my car or scoot even if it’s last minute? no. i’m driving slowly and cautiously enough to notice them. there’s no point in rushing in a condensed urban area, not to mention foolish and aggressive. i’d be all the way to ballard from the hill by the time i walk from pike st. to volunteer park. “cap hill res”: well said. driving a car is a dangerous machine and should be treated as such.
Boycotts? You can’t be serious.
These accidents didn’t start because Elliot Bay Books created a parking lot especially since there has been one across the street for years. There are parking lots all over Capitol Hill and you can’t attribute accidents to just people from outside the neighborhood.
Mr/Mrs. “Actually”,
I never claimed that pedestrians didn’t have the right of way. You can read what I wrote again.
RCW 46.61.235 Crosswalks
“No pedestrian or bicycle shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk, run, or otherwise move into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop.”
Common sense is required.
There’s nothing wrong with favoring businesses that cater to non-drivers (walkers, bikers, transit riders). But more productive than boycott of businesses responding to market demands would probably be advocating for policies that encourage non-car travel, such as pedestrian improvements, maximum parking limits, traffic calming, improved bike & transit, smart density, ending gasoline subsidies, etc, etc
I blame this accident not on any one person but an infrastructure that makes us vulnerable to the these conflicts in the first place.
http://feetfirst.info/
A fine local organization addressing pedestrian issues…
@boycott elliott bay
while i support public transit wholeheartedly and am not a big fan of parking lots, your implication that locals are better drivers or more careful seems waaaay off base to me.
routine breeds complacency. local commuters taking the same route home every day are probably more dangerous than anyone because they make the drive on autopilot AND they’re impatient to get home. the fact that one SHOULD know better does not mean one will ACT better.
Hah! Mr/Mrs. actually gets schooled! Love it when people spout off on what the law “actually” is yet don’t bother with the slightest bit of research. There are also numerous cases on point that address both drivers’ and pedestrians’ duties at crosswalks. There’s no all or nothing right of way.
Regardless, this is an unfortunate circumstance I hope the woman is ok.
I’m a driver and pedestrian, and I’m extremely careful in both roles. For every driver who ignores a cross-walk, there’s also a jackass pedestrian who thinks it’s ok to jump out in front of a car. In fact, some moron jumped directly in front of my brother-in-law’s car on 11th last week – literally jumped, faced him as he fortunately saw her in time to slam on the brakes, then she laughed like it was some joke they should all enjoy.