A reported hit and run crash left a car on two wheels and at least two other vehicles damaged in a collision that turned into a full-on Pike/Pine spectacle Saturday morning just after midnight.
Emergency units were called to E Pike just east of Broadway to the collision around 12:20 AM and found the crashed SUV up on its side. Police were searching for the driver and passengers who climbed out and reportedly fled the scene after the crash. Descriptions were limited — one passenger reportedly was a female with pink hair, according to SPD radio dispatches. We are not aware of any injuries associated with the crash.
With damage limited to the parked cars and crashed SUV, Seattle Fire units focused on stabilizing the tilted vehicle in the midst of typically thick Pike/Pine crowds. SPD had to call additional units to the scene to assist in “scene control.”
E Pike was closed to eastbound traffic during the response as police waited for a private tow truck to arrive.
There were no immediate arrests reported.
UPDATE: A nearby security cam (MP4) captured the crash and some of the ensuing response. Check out the recording around the 0:56 mark.
two truck?! A tandem truck?
Such a weird accident, likely contributed to by the very wide travel lane on Pike which is not striped to indicate that it is only one lane, not two.
Did they suddenly realize there was only one lane, and try to quickly pass the car in front on its right (not noticing the stopped car in front of it)? Or did they just mix up the gas and the brake?
It seems possible there was impairment involved. But the roadway design also promotes confusion rather than safety.
@jonathan, that’s funny – I always thought it was two lanes. There’s enough space, and when there’s a lot of traffic, two lanes sort of naturally form heading east before broadway.
I’m with Jonathan on this. There are 2 full lanes on the West side of Broadway but they’re supposed to eventually merge into 1 on the other side. The car that flipped seemed to over-estimate the space they had and tried to squeeze in. But yeah— good chance they might have been toasted. The lane configuration sure doesn’t help. Maybe they should make the lane next to QFC right turn only.
Aside, I believe this security video is illegal (inadvertently, I’m sure).
Last time I researched thoroughly, I believe you are not allowed to record sound, only video, of public spaces.
This is 100% false. The wiretap law only applies to “private” conversation. “Whether a conversation or other communications is “private” depends on a number of case-specific factors, such as the subjective intention of the parties, the reasonableness of their expectation that the conversation would be private, the location of the conversation, and whether third parties were present.”
You have no reasonable expectation of privacy on the sidewalk.
John is correct about recording and incorrect about privacy.
There is no such prohibition on recording audio in public as Eli suspected. You can generally do it all you like–even at a TSA airport checkpoint.
In order to lawfully record a private conversation in Washington, all parties must consent. Continuing to engage in discussion after receiving notification that it will be recorded constitutes consent, so in effect, notification is all that is required. See RCW 9.73.030 and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ guide for details.
It is reasonable to have some expectation of privacy in public. It is reasonable to expect that there is not a camera recording up your skirt while sitting on a park bench or standing on a public sidewalk. It is reasonable to expect that a quiet conversation had while waling on a public sidewalk is not being recorded by someone with a rooftop parabolic microphone. It is reasonable to expect that our government is not tracking you and recording where you go and with whom you associate every time you leave the privacy of your home to go about your lawful business in public.