Woman hit by car while walking across I-5 in Seattle
SEATTLE - A 40-year-old woman was struck by a car and seriously injured Thursday morning on Interstate 5 near Dearborn Street in Seattle, officials said.
Emergency crews responded to the scene just after 9 a.m. after receiving 911 calls about the accident. The woman was rushed by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.
The Washington State Patrol says it appears the woman was a transient who had climbed over the guard rail and was trying to cross the HOV lanes when she was hit.
The driver of the car was unhurt.
The accident snarled traffic in the area for about an hour.
Emergency crews responded to the scene just after 9 a.m. after receiving 911 calls about the accident. The woman was rushed by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.
The Washington State Patrol says it appears the woman was a transient who had climbed over the guard rail and was trying to cross the HOV lanes when she was hit.
The driver of the car was unhurt.
The accident snarled traffic in the area for about an hour.
Get the Mayor on this right away ......... we need homeless lanes on the freeway.
Just another Seattle crazy not knowing the difference between a sidewalk and a freeway..
It took KOMO 5 hours to post this story and they don't even have any more info then the other agencies that posted it right away?
Bet they gave the driver a test even though it's immaterial because this person was on the highway, just like the article about the kid jumping out from between two parked cars. Completely immaterial. Did they give the trooper the same test? Don't count on it, is my guess. It would be interesting to see the media report this unknown so annoying people like me couldn't write things like I'm writing. Was there a test for both drivers?
Above all I hope that the driver who hit her knows that this is NOT his/her fault. I can't imagine how scared that poor driver must have been when he hit that woman. I would have been completely panicked. Of course I hope the woman recovers, and gets some psychological treatment because nobody in their right mind would try to walk across a major interstate in a city during rush hour.Â
What the ***k...do we need crosswalks on the freeways for the homeless now?
What is that...three in the last couple of days? Pedestrians do not belong on the freeway!
What is with these nut cases trying to cross a freeway now days. This is the second person in the last few days that have been hurt or killed by a car. What do they think they are God or Superman/woman or something???
 @LongBeachBum A 30-06 bullet couldn't make it across I5 at 9am. What are the odds someone could walk across? I just don't get this.
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Like I always tell my kids when they get hurt doing something stupid "DO IT AGAIN".
Ummm, why would she be walking across the freeway?? Im glad that she is going to be okay and so is the driver.  Was she high, suicidal, mentally ill? Â
@mpatrick Mentally Stupid.
It said she was a transient...I'm pretty sure most don't worry about whether or not they are following safety laws, when they need to go somewhere, they just go.
Right about where the "Jungle" is located..Â
why in the WORLD was she walking across the freeway???????
I'm sad that she got hurt, obviously I don't think she deserved it even if that was a really stupid decision, but I am ESPECIALLY glad that the accident didn't cause harm to anyone else. THAT is just the worst. She could have seriously injured the driver who hit her and other surrounding vehicles in the chaos.
@Sarah E That area is known as "the junction", or the "jungle". A lot of homeless people live under the freeway overpasses, or in the woods surrounding I-5 and I-90, towards the south and east. Its a hotspot for crime including murder, drugs, and rape. Homeless people will often run across I-5, and this kind of thing has happened many times in the past there.
really? that's so sad!!! that is really scary that running across I-5 is a normal thing there...!
Why do so many people walk across I5? Are they on drugs?
CAUTION: ZOMBIES AHEAD
 @TreeTopFlyer Probably...heroin addict..pothead...drunk...too much acid...all a forms of zombies I suppose.
Darwin wins again....
 @quinoline Only if the woman dies. If she lives, it'll be a near-miss for Darwin. :)
Street people are invariably drugged up/drunk and/or mentally ill. Cannot do much about that but feel bad for the driver who hit her as well as the poor woman who felt she had to try to cross a busy freeway.
What big-hearted people - constantly amazing to me how many people actually DON'T feel an ounce of compassion for another living soul. Â Yes, you all sound SO tough and smart calling this woman an idiot and making snide remarks.
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Let's hear the snideness when it's a loved one of YOURS or even maybe YOURSELF who makes a stupid mistake and ends up hurt. Â I have a feeling you're all the type who would instantly want to sue.
 @fyrefawx That is major problem she made a unnecessary move. It is hard to understand why someone would do this. The major questions that needs to be answered:
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Did she had the right to cross the street?
Was she aware the danger of harming other or herself?
If not, why is she isn't aware and did she put herself under that state of conscious.
Why did she cross the street?
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There is no reason to have compassion because she could have killed someone because of her own selfish move. If the driver doesn't sue the woman, it will be the driver who have to pay to fix the damages of his car.
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And the woman would simply walk away.
 @Katrina Y. Compassion. This woman needs a lot. She is homeless, possibly mentally ill. Compassion is a human response. I do not understand why she chose to cross the most major interstate on the West Coast but that does not preclude my compassion for her. Hopefully, if she lives, she will receive some aid, some help to get her off the street, and hopefully mental health services if necessary.
 @Katrina Y.   'There is no reason to have compassion'   You outta ask yourself, What will I be remembered for? cuz right now, the answer is, not much...
@Katrina Y. Since she was identified as a transient, most likely she's mentally ill, which may or may not have been caused by drug &/or alcohol abuse. That area is well known as a gathering area for the homeless.
 @Katrina Y. And there you are, proof of my first statement and too ignorant to know it.
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Compassion needs no reason, there no questions that need to be answered before feeling compassion. It's a human trait, a fine human trait. You should try it sometime.
 @fyrefawx And I thought the only person suffering from "Acute Stupidity" this was the one who tried to walk across a freeway :) Didn't knew it is reaching epidemic levels in WA state.
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I hope you find help soon... (See!! I displayed compassion!) :-P
 @NickM1979 Acute stupidity?  "What if" is NOT the same as what actually happened now is it?  Suggest you take your "acute stupidity" comment and shove it where the sun don't shine.
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What if what if what if ---- dumb, dumb, dumb. Â Why? Because it DIDN'T.
 @fyrefawx Umm... What about compassion for the driver? What if he/she had a young kid in the back? What if the driver tried to avoid hitting her, swerved into the other lane and cause a cascading crash?
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What is their fault in all this? She had a death wish when she decided to walk across the freeway. She got what she deserved and I am happy the driver is not hurt.
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When we condone such acts, we are not displaying compassion, rather an acute stupidity and lack of common sense.Â
@fyrefawx, not sure why you're getting so balled up over the comments. It's an unfortunate reality that too many homeless, left w/ few options, will take these chances. Gee, maybe if Seattle DEALT w/ its homeless problems rather than shuffling them off to other cities or just clearing their encampments, we would see people desperately trying to cross a freeway in the middle of traffic!
How many need to die before people realize it's not a good idea to walk across the freeway?
I feel sorry for the poor driver who hit her.
HELLOOOOOO???? Is this person a total idiot or WHAT? We're talking about the Interstate here!! We just had this happen the other night! What is WRONG with people?
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The freeway is for cars. Idiots walking on the freeway will get hit and/or killed by cars. Don't be an idiot.
Seriously people? Unless if you're on wheels, stay the hell off the freeway!
For all the haters that criticized the Officer that hit the man on the 5 in Mount Vernon this week at night. Â They said that he must have been doing something wrong, driving distracted, etc. Â This accident was broad daylight. Â You can't walk on the freeway, or run across it. There is no way to adequately judge the speed of the cars. Â Terrible thing for all involved, in both instances.Â
 @DT "You can't walk on the freeway, or run across it. There is no way to adequately judge the speed of the cars."
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Sure you can, not everyone who crosses a freeway or busy highway gets hit.Â
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The law of wheels: If it has more or bigger wheels, it has the right-of-way and you will lose if you argue about it.
Unfortunately many homeless people also suffer from mental illnesses. I'm not say this person was but it would explain why she was trying to cross a busy freeway. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind doing that.
OK, where's all the people that were lambasting the officer for doing the same thing a couple days ago? Oh, that's right, you only wanted to degrade the driver because he was an officer and your disdain for authority clouded your judgement.
Prayers for both the woman and the driver who hit her. She did something really dumb but doesn't deserve to die for her mistake.
 @Ned It's called the Darwin Theory, and should apply to the humans on this earth too
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