DUI suspect arrested after crashing into Aurora Ave. warehouse

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a man for driving under the influence after he crashed into a building in North Seattle.

The crash occurred just before 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 near the 9300 block of Aurora Avenue North. Witnesses reported the vehicle, described as a van, traveled at a high rate of speed across all lanes of traffic on Aurora before colliding into a lumber warehouse and hitting a wall stacked with paint.

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Police removed two people from the vehicle after the collision: a driver and a passenger.

“Officers removed the injured passenger, 58, covered in paint, out of the building after he broke the glass door with a chair and nearly assaulted a fireman,” the SPD reported in a post on its Crime Blotter blog. “Policeman were briefly exposed to noxious fumes inside yet were unharmed.”

The passenger and the driver, 62, were evaluated for minor injuries at Harborview Medical Center. The driver is suspected of being under the influence of narcotics.

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Seattle Fire Department (SFD) firefighters needed self-contained breathing apparatuses in order to enter the building due to the toxic fumes from the large volume of exposed paint.

Police arrested the driver for DUI and booked him into King County Jail after crashing into the Aurora Avenue warehouse.

The business sustained thousands of dollars worth of damages, the SPD stated in its blog post.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.