Police: No reason to believe driver in deadly Seattle crash was impaired
Jul 2, 2016, 8:50 AM | Updated: 8:50 am
Two construction workers were injured after an elevated basket was hit by a truck on the West Seattle Bridge. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Seattle police say they have no reason to believe that the driver of a box truck that struck the arm of a lift, throwing two men from a lift basket on the West Seattle Bridge, was impaired.
KIRO 7 reports the driver was scheduled to be tested for drugs and alcohol, which is routine after a deadly crash.
One man was wearing a safety harness and fell about 15 feet. The other man fell about 50 feet to the ground and later died.
A witness told KIRO 7 that he drove by and saw the man still hanging in his safety harness.
“He looked like he was hanging and waiting, maybe kind of shocked,” Hallie Guppy said. “I don’t know.”
The two contractors for the Seattle Department of Transportation were working under the West Seattle Bridge. They were working on the Fauntleroy Expressway Bearing Pad Replacement Project when the truck struck the lift while traveling on an off-ramp on the bridge.
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and the Occupational Safety Health Administration are investigating. The investigation could take six months.
Investigators will try to determine who is to blame.
“Were they where they were supposed to be? Was it signed properly? Were there cones? Did they do everything possible to avoid this?” SPD Detective Patrick Michaud told KIRO 7. He said interviewing the survivor should help the investigation.
The worker who survived the fall was in serious condition Friday and was scheduled for surgery.
The man who died has not been identified.
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