Tag Archive for 'pedestrian collision'

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Driver kills pedestrian after failing to yield

There’s been a rash of bad news to report lately. We’re a little late to report this, but a Belltown resident was struck and killed at 2nd and Bell during the last week of December. A 48-year-old woman was walking with the signal when a car failed to yield and struck her. The woman died the next day. From the Times article:

In a safety meeting this week, Noel House clients said the corner has been a longtime safety threat, [program director for Noel House Eileen] McComb said in a message to City Councilman Tim Burgess.

The corner is tree-shaded and a magnet for petty criminals, though McComb said conditions have improved lately. There is busy pedestrian traffic because of a minimart, on-street parking and nightlife.

“There’s a lot of visual noise with restaurants and activities going on,” McComb said. “I sense that people driving through, who may not be familiar with that area, don’t understand how dense the population is.”

A $2.5 million city project is planned this summer to transform four blocks of Bell Street into a parklike mini-boulevard, with lights, play structures, plants and wider sidewalks. Meanwhile, Burgess said he’s asked city transportation Director Peter Hahn to look at immediate safety and lighting improvements. Council members Nick Licata and Sally Bagshaw, with utility and police officials, also have shown interest, McComb said.


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Driver who struck pedestrians at Pike Place Market pleads not guilty

The driver who struck three pedestrians at Pike Place Market while under the influence has pleaded not guilty:

SEATTLE – The man who hit three pedestrians at the Pike Place Market last month has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Published reports say 39-year-old Travis Lipski pleaded not guilty to two counts of vehicular assault.

Lipski admitted that he’d smoked synthetic marijuana just before he drove toward a couple on the sidewalk, clipping the woman and then hitting her husband. He then hit a second woman, pinning her against a truck.

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Person hit by light rail committed suicide

From the Seattle Times (hat tip Seattle Transit Blog)

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office says a 49-year-old man who died after he was struck by a Link light-rail train in Seattle’s Industrial District on Thursday committed suicide.

This is the second suicide-by-rail since the opening of Link, and according to the comments at Seattle Transit Blog, near misses with light rail aren’t uncommon.

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Pedestrian struck by light rail vehicle

A man walked in front of a moving Link light rail vehicle and was struck and killed earlier today.


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Preliminary investigation indicates that a 49-year-old male pedestrian was crossing the light rail tracks westbound against multiple warning signals, which included flashing lights, traffic closure arms, and the sound of the horn of the approaching northbound light rail vehicle (LRV).

The LRV operator saw the pedestrian and applied the emergency brakes but was unable to stop in time and the pedestrian was subsequently struck. SFD medics responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to Harborview Medical Center where he later died.

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Two people hit on Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill Seattle reports that two pedestrians were hit yesterday.


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One person was taken to Harborview with serious head injuries. The condition of the second person is not known at this time.

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Out of control driver was under the influence

The driver who struck three pedestrians at Pike Place Market was under the influence at the time of the accident:

King County prosecutors filed vehicular assault charges Tuesday against a driver who struck three pedestrians outside Pike Place Market.

Filing the charges, prosecutors claim Travis Clinton Lipski was high on Thursday morning when he drove a Subaru through a red light near the market and struck three people.

According to charging documents, Lipski, 39, has twice been convicted of driving under the influence. The Seattle resident is alleged to have admitted to smoking an herbal substance similar in its effects to marijuana shortly before the crashes.

Vehicular assault carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and prison and a $20,000 fine.

Fortunately all three pedestrians are expected to survive, however two sustained broken bones and one of the two is still in the hospital.

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Cab driver rams pedestrian

A pedestrian who complained about a cab driver’s driving ended up being the victim of vehicular assault:

Describing the Dec. 5 incident, Seattle Detective Timothy DeVore said the alleged victim was walking in the alley with two friends when, at about 9 p.m., they were nearly struck by Christy’s cab.

Christy, a driver for Yellow Cab, was stopped and attempting to turn on to Mercer Street when the three pedestrians confronted him, DeVore told the court. The victim, a resident of the neighborhood, said he was tired of cabs driving too fast down the alley where he and others walk.

A slice of pizza in hand, Christy was unrepentant, the detective continued.

“There are no normal people left in Seattle, nothing but (anti-gay slur) and scum,” Christy is alleged to have replied.

Christy then pulled into traffic and appeared to be leaving the scene when he made a U-turn at 1st Avenue North and drove toward the trio, who were crossing Mercer Street, the detective continued. Having driving past, Christy is alleged to have cut a second U-turn and drove into one of the men who’d confronted him.

“Christy sped his cab toward (the victim) striking him on the left side of his body,” DeVore told the court. “Just prior to being struck by the vehicle, (the victim) jumped in the air and bounced on top of the cab and then onto the street.”

The man sustained minor injuries and was treated by Seattle Fire Department medics. Christy, the detective said, fled the scene but was located by officers after a witness noted his cab number.

The driver was charged with second-degree assault.

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