Erratic driver blamed for I-405 rollover crash

BOTHELL, Wash. - An intoxicated, erratic driver heading south on Interstate 405 at speeds of more than 100 mph slammed into a minivan Wednesday evening, injuring seven people - four of them seriously, state troopers said.

Troopers said two mothers and four children were inside the minivan at the time of the crash. The minivan was hit so hard from behind that it flipped over onto its top.

State Patrol Trooper Dan McDonald said the occupants of the minivan are "lucky to be alive" following the crash.

Geoffrey Goddard

McDonald said Geoffrey T. Goddard, a 25 year-old Kirkland resident, was behind the wheel of the white 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup that hit the minivan.

Four people were rushed to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Dan McDonald. Two of the children in the minivan suffered broken bones.

Emergency personnel responded to the scene, at the 195th entrance ramp to I-405, at about 6:20 p.m.

According to witnesses and State Patrol troopers, Goddard reached speeds of over 100 mph in the HOV lane just before the crash.

As Goddard passed under the Northeast 195th Street overpass, he crashed into the 2006 grey Mazda MZ5 minivan, troopers said.

The impact forced the minivan across four lanes of traffic and a dirt median before rolling and flipping onto its top.

The minivan came to rest on the right guardrail on the onramp from 195th Street to southbound I-405.

Goddard tried to flee the scene after the crash, troopers said. An off-duty police officer and other witnesses saw him and he was quickly apprehended, said Trooper Dan McDonald.

It's believed that alcohol was a factor in the crash, McDonald said.

While Goddard was being treated at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland for minor injuries he attempted to flee the emergency room while stark naked. A trooper apprehended Goddard as he was running across the hospital parking lot.

Goddard was released from the hospital and booked into King County Jail for investigation of two counts of vehicular assault.

He will also be charged with escape for attempting to flee the hospital.