Tag Archives: DUI

911 | Crash at Harvard traffic circle leaves SUV on side, sends reported DUI driver to hospital

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(Image courtesy SB Hopper)

See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or tune into the CHS Scanner page.

  • Harvard crash: Seattle Police says the driver was “obviously inebriated” in a crash that left her small SUV flipped on its side at the Harvard at Thomas traffic circle Sunday night. A large contingent of Seattle Fire units were called to the scene for a “rescue extrication” just off Broadway to cut open the car and remove the injured driver. Police say the driver appeared to have struck a parked vehicle while traveling below 35 MPH, flipping the SUV onto its side, and trapping the woman. Police say the driver admitted to drinking and was to receive a blood test after she was transported to the hospital by private ambulance with non-life threatening injuries. There were no additional reported injuries. Continue reading →

‘Amazingly, there don’t seem to be any injuries’ — Truck flips in 10th/E Highland collision

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A two-car collision on E Highland at 10th Ave E left a truck flipped on its roof and a sports car’s front-end mangled but miraculously nobody was hurt in the Friday night crash.

Preliminary reports indicate one driver was taken into custody for investigation of DUI but CHS has not yet confirmed the arrest with police.

Seattle Fire units rushed to the scene just after 6 PM for a serious “heavy rescue” incident but found occupants of the truck had been able to climb out on their own. “Amazingly, there don’t seem to be any injuries,” said one officer reporting on the scene via East Precinct radio. The crash also knocked down street signs at the corner.

The investigation and emergency response temporarily blocked traffic and buses on 10th Ave E but the street was reopened after about 30 minutes as the collision scene on the corner continued to block E Highland and police processed the scene.

UPDATE 4/2/2018: Police say the driver of the flipped truck had been traveling eastbound on E Highland at the time of the collision. The 34-year-old woman was evaluated for DUI and booked into King County Jail. Court records show she has not yet been charged.

Continue reading →

Despite apps and promo codes, big December for DUI stops around East Precinct

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December DUI incidents reported around the East Precinct (Source: data.seattle.gov)

December DUI incidents reported around the East Precinct (Source: data.seattle.gov)

Early Friday morning between midnight and 3 AM, East Precinct officers made three DUI stops including one just before last call in the heart of the entertainment district at Harvard and Pike.

The stops come in a busier than usual month for impaired driver calls for police across Capitol Hill and the Central District even as impaired drivers have more and more options to be passengers.

This New Year’s Eve, the City of Seattle has again teamed up with Uber for a promotion giving users discounted rides — open the Uber app, tap Promotions, enter promo code SAFESTART2017, and “request an uberPOOL ride on New Year’s Eve and the $10 discount will automatically apply,” Uber writes. But the ride service and its brethren don’t seem to have made a dent in East Precinct DUI enforcement this holiday season.

According to Seattle Police’s publicly available reporting, East patrols have responded to 39 DUI incidents so far this December. Over the past six years, officers have usually made around 20 stops in the same period. Of those 39 stops, about half ended in an arrest including a tech venture capital partner busted just before A AM on December 28th near 27th and Madison and the unfortunate health worker nailed not once but twice this month — once on the 7th and again on the 13th.

Uber’s and others like Lyft’s impact on drunk driving statistics have been used by the companies to push for expansion of the services. Nationally, the drunk driving rate has fallen to a new low, the Washington Post reported Friday. The numbers show that Americans are reporting that, yes indeed, they are driving impaired less often. That may be the case. But the SPD data from Capitol Hill and the East Precinct shows there is still plenty of dangerous drunk driving going on despite the apps and promo codes.

Driver cited for DUI in collision that left Zipcar upside down on E Madison

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Thanks to @nursebeckus for the picture

A driver with a blood alcohol level more than two and a half times the legal limit flipped the Zipcar he was driving after hitting another vehicle early Saturday morning near E Madison and 14th Ave.

There were no significant injuries in the crash. No additional details of how the car ended up on its roof were available.

CHS reported on the crash over the weekend but details of the arrest and the DUI citation have now been released.

According to the SPD report on the incident, police arrived on the scene just before 3 AM in time to see a man crawling out of the driver’s seat of the blue car on its roof in the middle of the eastbound lanes of E Madison. Police noted a strong smell of alcohol on the driver’s breath, his “red, bloodshot and watery” eyes and that he seemed to have difficulty speaking and standing without swaying. The driver admitted he was “a little buzzed” and that he had been drinking beer and cocktails for hours at nearby Neighbours.

After a series of sobriety tests at the scene, police arrested the man and took him to East Precinct where a blood alcohol test was administered. In two tests, the arrested driver registered a reading of .196 and .198. He was cited for DUI before being released to be taken to the county sobering center. Upon release, the man said that his head hurt and he was transported to Harborview for further evaluation and medical treatment.

Washington’s current state limit for drunk driving is 0.08 for adults. The National Transportation Safety Board this week released a plan to further reduce federal legal limits for drunk driving to 0.05.