Car gets stuck near Rainier Beach station in Seattle’s second light rail track incident this year

For the second time this year, a car got stuck on Seattle light rail tracks.

A woman drove onto the tracks near Rainier Beach station at approximately 5 p.m. Monday and got stuck.

“She said she was following her GPS, she had a new car, and was unfamiliar with the area,” Brandyn Hull, Communications Manager for the King County Sheriff’s Office, said. “It was raining, and there was poor visibility, so she didn’t realize she was driving onto the tracks until it was too late and she got stuck.”

The driver was not cited or arrested.

The incident disrupted Link 1 Line light rail service for approximately four hours, according to Sound Transit.

Crews inspected the guideways for damage and received the all-clear to resume normal operations at about 9 p.m.

June incident disrupted light rail at Mount Baker Station

In June, Sound Transit’s 1 Line light rail service was disrupted for two hours after a driver drove onto the elevated tracks at Mount Baker Station.

According to witnesses at the scene, the driver said she was following her GPS, which led her onto the tracks. She drove a “significant distance” on the tracks before getting stuck.

No injuries were reported in the June incident. The driver, a 70-year-old woman, got out of the car with assistance from Seattle Fire and was taken to the hospital.

Sound Transit addresses trackway safety

“Conversations about safety are ongoing, and we’re always looking for ways to improve the system,” Sound Transit Spokesperson Amy Enbysk told KIRO Newsradio Tuesday. “We don’t have any plans to share at this time.

“We’re also reminding drivers to please avoid driving on the trackways,” Enbysk added.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO