Truck in Edmonds home crash was over road’s weight limit; residents say story is familiar

Residents in Edmonds’ Meadowdale neighborhood are pleading with the city: stop letting heavy machinery come down our steep hill after a truck was involved in a crash that damaged a home.

The dump truck, which was hauling asphalt, took out a power pole and plowed into attorney Rick Nissen’s home last Wednesday. The primary point of impact was the carport area. The home was occupied but no one suffered any injuries.

He apparently crashed into a power pole, splitting it in half before crashing into the property. The live power lines were sitting on the ground before being cut.

A spokesperson for South County Fire told KIRO Newsradio last week investigators weren’t sure what caused the driver to crash.

Previous coverage: Man injured after driving a dump truck into an Edmonds home

Edmonds residents react to the crash

Kathleen Johanson has lived near the bottom of the hill on Meadowdale Road for 44 years. Recently, a steel guardrail was reinforced with thick wood and metal girders.

“Every few years, something happens,” Johanson said to KIRO Newsradio.

Investigators believe the truck driver had an “equipment malfunction.”

Neighbors say that’s a familiar story.

“We’ve had delivery trucks, we’ve had moving trucks, we’ve had just regular passenger vehicles losing their brakes,” Johanson said.

Nissen wasn’t hurt on Wednesday. But the corner of his home was caved in and it’s not the first time he’s walked away unscathed.

“This is the third or fourth time a truck has come down the hill and crashed, the second dump truck. The first driver, he actually was able to lay it down and he only took out part of my retaining wall, Nissen said.

But this time, someone did get hurt.

Christie Veley with South County Fire says the truck driver was fighting for his life. The Edmonds Police Department (EPD) said later the driver improved to stable condition.

But neighbors worry about truck drivers repeatedly rocketing down this winding road.

“It drops 400 feet in 7/10 of a mile. So, it’s pretty steep,” Johanson explained.

The snaking pavement ends and curves abruptly, with only a few waterfront homes separating a runaway truck from busy railroad tracks and the blue waters of Browns Bay.

Looking at what’s allowed in the area

So why are construction and engineering machinery even allowed here?

Well, they may not be.

A road sign on Meadowdale Road just before the decline tells drivers there’s a five-ton weight limit.

The EPD said the dump truck driver’s load of asphalt was heavier than that after Wednesday’s crash.

More from Edmonds: Truck crashes into home, injuring 1 and causing $150K in damage

City regulations allow for trucks on designated truck routes. But a public works employee with the city says that road was not one of them. Officials don’t know exactly why the driver chose to go down Meadowdale Road at 75th Avenue that day.

Public works says he was supposed to be going to a city repaving project.

That site: Meadowdale Beach Road at 74th, about a half mile away.

The city contracted Granite Construction, who subcontracted the job to haul the asphalt to Green Western Trucking.

Mark Phillips is a spokesman with Granite Construction said the company doesn’t have any information about the driver’s intentions.

“No, we don’t know why they took that specific route,” Phillips said to KIRO Newsradio.

So, right now, no one knows why, including neighbors concerned it could happen again.

Traffic investigators are trying to find out if the driver’s detour down Meadowdale Road was a “reasonable” route.

But in the meantime, North Meadowdale between 68th Avenue and 75th Place remains steep. It’s still heavily wooded and there’s little keeping any truckers from headed toward more than he bargained for. That leaves neighbors wondering when the next crash will be and who might be hurt when that crash occurs.

Sam Campbell is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Sam’s stories here. Follow Sam on X, or email him here.

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