SEATTLE — A semitruck driver slammed into the iconic pergola in Pioneer Square, damaging the historic structure for a second time.
When a tractor-trailer came around the corner at First Avenue and Yesler Way on Thursday night, the truck bent back a corner of the pergola.
Neil MacNeil was sitting on a nearby bench when it happened.
“I saw him coming down James (Street) and I said, ‘He's a long one and I hope he's going straight,’ and he started turning right. (I thought) ‘He's too long, and he's not going to make it,’” said MacNeil. “He still did some damage to it, but not like last time.”
In 2001, a truck accidentally destroyed the 1909 pergola. The trucking company paid for a replacement.
“They need to put a sign up there -- no semitrucks,” said McNeil.
Thursday’s accident wedged the trailer in such a way that the truck’s drive wheels couldn’t touch the ground.
While a crew worked to free the truck, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Graham Johnson asked the driver how it happened.
The driver said he was following his GPS system and took the turn too tight.
“I’ve heard of GPS taking people off a cliff, too,” said MacNeil.
Eventually, a tow truck freed the semitruck from the pergola.
On Friday afternoon, a Seattle Parks spokesperson told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News that crews went out and removed the damaged roof from the southwest side of the pergola. Crews removed a cast iron piece, and will repair it.
Within the next few days, they will remove a similar-sized piece from the northeast side of the pergola and place it in the southwest side.
After the damages are repaired, crews will put the piece in the rarely-seen northeast side.
According to Seattle Parks, the pergola appeared to have no structural damage. There will be short-term emergency lane closures in the area during the next few days.
It is not known if the driver will face any charges.
KIRO
