Car Accidents

Bus accident in Washington severely injures another woman

September 24, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A driver suffered serious injuries after her vehicle collided with a bus in Vashon Island on Sept. 17, authorities reported. The bus was reportedly carrying students who were going on a field trip, but none of the children on the bus suffered injuries as a result of the incident.

Authorities stated that the accident transpired around 11:30 a.m. That is when a large tour bus traveling on Vashon Highway crossed the centerline and collided with a car. Following the impact, the bus careened off of the roadway before finally coming to a stop in a thick hedge adjacent to the highway. Law enforcement officials suspect that the driver of the bus might have had a medical episode prior to the incident. Reportedly, the driver said that he had ‘blanked out.”

As a result of the crash, the car sustained heavy damage, and its driver suffered injuries that officials deem to be serious. Emergency personnel transported her via airlift to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The precise nature of the woman’s injuries was not clear in the immediate aftermath of the event.

Woman dies after pedestrian accident with alleged drunk driver

September 17, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A 23-year-old Washington woman is dead following an accident that occurred around 2 a.m. on Sept. 10 in Kitsap County when she was struck by a car as she was crossing the street. A 25-year-old male who was walking with her was critically injured. According to police, the driver of the vehicle appeared intoxicated and was unable to complete field sobriety tests after the accident.

The crash occurred after the pedestrians and the 26-year-old driver left a party at a local tavern. The woman was declared dead at the scene. The male pedestrian was taken to a hospital in Seattle for treatment of critical injuries. The driver and two passengers in the vehicle were uninjured.

According to police, the man admitted to drinking both beer and vodka before driving. He was also allegedly traveling at a speed of 35 mph in a 25 mph zone. The man is facing charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. At the time of the report, he was in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Washington woman injured when car crashes Lake City bar

September 9, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The Back Door Pub in the 12300 block of Lake City Way NE, Washington became the scene of an accident that injured one woman when a man in his 30s allegedly crashed his car into the bar. The woman was pinned between the building and the man’s vehicle. According to the owner of the bar, the man sped his SUV toward a power pole but instead veered toward a group of people and crashed into the building, damaging a wall.

The 31-year-old woman pinned against the building had to be extricated. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she was treated for a fractured leg.

The bar owner alleged the man purposely caused the accident because he had been refused a drink at the bar. Police are investigating the accident but have not yet confirmed if the driver was arrested or is facing a DUI charge.

Washington crash kills 2, 1 critically injured

September 5, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A 68-year-old former police chief and a 16-year-old boy were killed in a head-on crash near Redmond on Aug. 24. According to sources, around 9 p.m., the man was driving west when an eastbound pickup truck driven by the teenager hit his SUV head-on.

After hitting the SUV, the teen’s pickup continued moving in the westbound lanes and crashed into another car. The pickup then flipped over and blocked both lanes of the highway.

The man and teen were declared dead at the scene. Police say the man’s 68-year-old wife was also in the car at the time of the crash. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, where she was listed in critical condition. The woman in the second vehicle that was hit suffered only minor injuries, and she reportedly declined medical attention.

Washington driver charged after accident

August 26, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A 21-year-old driver was charged by police with vehicular homicide for killing his friend while he was attempting to replicate a skateboard trick using his car. The driver was traveling on Saturday, Aug. 16, with friends when one of his passengers asked him to try a ‘slap the rail” trick using his car. The idea was to hit the curb with the tires of the car and cause it bounce the vehicle.

The vehicle was headed north on Interstate 205. The driver took the exit ramp at freeway speed and lost control. The vehicle landed upside down. Police said an 18-year-old passenger was killed in the rollover and the other occupants all suffered minor injuries.

Reports state the group of friends had been watching a skateboarding movie earlier in the day. Police said the driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. The driver was brought into court on Monday, Aug. 18. The judge set his bail at $30,000 and his arraignment for Aug. 29.

Multiple people injured in Washington car accident

August 18, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A 59-year-old woman and a 63-year-old woman suffered serious injuries in an accident that took place at the 20500 block of Miller Bay Road NE in Kitsap County on Aug. 3. Additionally, a 15-year-old girl was treated at the scene for minor injuries. One woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center while the other woman was airlifted to Harrison Medical Center.

Police say that the accident occurred in Suquamish when the driver of a Chevrolet Cavalier was going northbound on Miller Bay Road at a high rate of speed when it collided with a Dodge going southbound that was attempting to make a turn into a driveway. The two vehicles collided in a T-bone fashion, and the driver of the Cavalier was also seriously injured in the crash since he was not wearing a seat belt.

Authorities also said that the man was fleeing from a traffic stop, tried to flee the scene of the accident on foot and was likely impaired at the time of the crash. Blood was drawn from the man after first aid was administered and before he was airlifted to a hospital in Seattle via an Airlift Northwest helicopter. Miller Bay Road NE had to be closed for several hours while the scene was cleared, and the crash is still being investigated.

Washington crash kills 1, possible drunk driver pleads not guilty

August 7, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

An Aug. 3 rollover accident on State Route 7 killed a University Place man and led Pierce County prosecutors to charge a Fort Riley, Kansas, man with vehicular homicide. The 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty on Aug. 5 and was held on $75,000 bail.

The accident occurred around 10:45 p.m. when the Kansas man lost control of a northbound pickup truck while rounding a curve near Pilgrim Road. The truck hit a guardrail after leaving the road and rolled before returning to the north lanes. The driver went to Good Samaritan Hospital with unspecified injuries, and a 48-year-old passenger, who was not wearing a seat belt, died after being partially ejected from his seat and becoming trapped between the guardrail and the truck.

The authorities believe that alcohol was a factor in the wreck and reported that the driver showed signs of intoxication at the crash site. Court records show that the passenger had asked the other man to drive, and the driver allegedly said that both men had shared a few beers before the accident and had been drinking all day.

Washington car accident leaves 3 injured

July 24, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Authorities report that a two-car accident in the afternoon of July 20 in Walla Walla County left three individuals with injuries. All of the people involved in the crash were wearing seat belts, and no drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident, according to troopers who investigated the scene.

A 53-year-old male driver was traveling in the eastbound lane of U.S. Highway 12 when he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and hit another car. He was not hurt, but his 47-year-old passenger was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The female driver of the other car and her passenger were both injured. The 69-year-old driver was driven to Richland for treatment, while the passenger, a 76-year-old man, was transported to the hospital by ambulance.

After a car accident in Washington involving auto injuries as this one did, authorities might attempt to construct a clear picture of liability. By using the results of an accident investigation by police or evidence such as eyewitness accounts or footage from a traffic camera, an attorney representing an injured plaintiff may be able to ascertain who is liable for a client’s damages. That attorney could build a strong personal injury claim and seek compensation for damages.

Man flees scene of Washington car crash

July 18, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A car accident that occurred in Seattle on July 11 left a passenger with serious injuries. According to law enforcement officials, two men were headed north around 3:15 p.m when the driver tried to pass a Metro bus but lost control. He then hit a fence and a tree. After the vehicle rolled, it ended up on its side.

The totaled car’s driver ran from from the scene before law enforcement arrived. The passenger, suffering from severe but not life-threatening injuries, was transported to Harborview Medical Center.

Another person at the scene was hit with debris from the fence. She was also transported to the hospital. Her condition was not known at the time of the report, and the accident was still under investigation.

Drunk driving suspected in crash in Washington

July 9, 2014 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on July 6, local police officers responded to the scene of a two-car crash in SeaTac. Upon arrival, they found that two people had been critically injured in the early morning accident.

Responding officers discovered a 42-year-old driver in a silver Subaru and a 22-year-old driver in a red Nissan at the scene. Beer bottles were reportedly found inside of the Nissan. Both injured drivers were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and the older driver’s condition had been upgraded by that afternoon.

The SeaTac Police Department suspects that the Nissan driver was under the influence. Police stated that the young man was speeding and drove over the centerline of the roadway before striking the older man’s Subaru head-on. A local news outlet tweeted a photo of a Budweiser beer can inside of the Nissan.