SPD investigating what led to driver plunging off SR 99, killing teen

Officers are investigating after a terrible crash in Seattle on a freeway off-ramp from Highway 99 killed one person and left three others hurt.

Just after 10:00 p.m. Saturday, police said a 16-year-old girl was behind the wheel of a vehicle exiting southbound State Route 99 (SR 99) onto the ramp that drops down to Harbor Island.

Investigators don’t know exactly why, but said the vehicle slammed into a concrete barrier, and then the car went flying off the ramp. They say it plunged 80 feet to the ground, landing upside down on East Marginal Way.

“The vehicle had exited southbound SR 99 at Harbor Avenue and struck the ramp barrier and then plunged about 80 feet to the street below,” Seattle Police Department (SPD) Detective Brian Pritchard said.

Teen boy dies after car plunges off SR 99

The impact ejected a teen boy. Medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center, but he did not survive his injuries.

The driver was trapped in the wreckage. Fire crews eventually got her out.

Two other teen boys got out of the vehicle on their own, with serious injuries.

The three survivors are in either critical or serious condition at Harborview.

The Seattle Police Department’s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) is investigating whether the crash was due to high speed, impairment, or if the wet weather played a role.

“Investigators are looking at whether it was speed, whether it was impairment, or weather played a role in the accident,” Pritchard said.

If you have any additional information about the crash or the vehicle’s occupants, you’re asked to call TCIS at (206) 684-8923.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

This story was originally published on October 19, 2025. It has been updated and republished since then.