SEATTLE — The State Patrol says the driver of a Starline Charter bus failed to stop and caused a chain reaction crash blocking all lanes of 520 at Portage Bay on Tuesday.
Emergency crews rushed to treat 11 patients. According to the Seattle Fire Department, nine people on the bus were hurt, including the driver; two other victims were in cars.
Nine of the patients went to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Most of them were treated and released by Tuesday night.
The driver of the bus was identified by Washington State Patrol as William Karlan Jr., 60, of Federal Way. He was out of the hospital Tuesday night, but did not want to talk about the crash. KIRO 7 looked up Karlan’s driving record and found he was cited for going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone in his personal car in 2010.
The owner of the bus, Starline Luxury Coaches, wouldn’t do an interview about the crash but did say the company is cooperating with authorities.
The state patrol sent investigators to Starline’s headquarters off Martin Luther King Junior Way in South Seattle a couple hours after the crash. Troopers were looking at maintenance records for the bus. The wrecked bus was towed back to the South Seattle lot around 4 p.m.
KIRO 7 investigated, searching through U.S. Department of Transportation records. Not including Tuesday’s crash, in the last two years Starline Luxury Coaches had three collisions, one of them involved injuries. USDOT gave Starline a “satisfactory” safety rating, which is the highest rating.
KIRO 7 discovered the injury collision was January 26. when a Snoqualmie Casino bus, run by Starline, crashed into a building in Burien. The driver of the bus had a head injury. Investigators say the driver of an SUV triggered the crash by running a red light.
The State Patrol is still investigating what caused Tuesday’s crash. All lanes of 520 Westbound approaching Montlake were closed for two hours after the crash.
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