Spokane Street Bridge closed after car plows into guard rail while it was raised

SEATTLE — A man is under arrest after crashing a car through warning gates and hitting the guard rail on the raised Spokane Street Bridge.

Around 7:01 p.m. on Saturday, the Seattle Fire Department answered calls about a car crash on the lower Spokane Street bridge near Spokane Street and 11th Avenue Southwest.

When crews arrived, they found two people trapped in the car after it crashed against the guardrail that kept the car from going over.

When Seattle police arrived they found a car that had crossed into the opposing lane, struck warning gates as the bridge was swinging open and came to a stop after striking the guard rail.

Police said the driver was traveling fast before the crash as the bridge was swinging.

Seattle Fire pulled out the passenger, a 21-year-old woman, from the car and treated her for possible internal injuries, police said.

The woman was then taken to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.

During the extrication, Seattle Fire found a loaded 9mm Glock 45 pistol inside the car belonging to the driver and handed it over to the officers.

Police said that the driver showed signs of being impaired and was arrested.

The driver, a 25-year-old Seattle man, was taken to Harborview Medical Center for his injuries while police sought a warrant to test his blood for intoxication.

The responding officer wrote in his report, “[the driver] had become very escalated and combative with staff. It required 6 security personnel to restrain him…”

After the warrant was approved, medical personnel collected a blood sample for police. Police released the suspect to the hospital for additional care.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) closed the bridge to give electricians and mechanics time to inspect and fix the damage to the bridge.

24 hours later, SDOT told drivers that the bridge remained closed except for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

SDOT does not have an estimated time to reopen the bridge but said that work to repair the bridge is ongoing.

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