CHS talked with Seattle Police Department spokesperson Renee Witt about Thursday’s accident scene on Madison to try to clear up exactly what happened to draw the large emergency and officer response.
Witt said the officer whose foot was run over is in better condition than previously thought — she has a severely sprained ankle, not a break as was first reported.
Witt said the large response — reported to include as many as 17 police cruisers — is standard procedure when an officer is injured.
“Any time there is an officer that is injured it garners a large response until we can figure out what was going on,” Witt said.
According to Witt, the officer who was injured was directing traffic at the scene where a person in a wheelchair had been struck by a vehicle at the Madison intersection. Witt said a truck turning west onto Madison from 15th ran over the officer’s foot. The truck’s driver told police that he was distracted by another pedestrian and didn’t see the officer. Witt said the driver was interviewed and released and will likely be cited.
The original accident involving the pedestrian in the wheelchair did not result in serious injuries. According to the Seattle Fire Department, the victim and the driver in that accident were not transported from the scene. Witt said she did not have information at this time about any citations issued in the first accident.
