Car crash causes major gas leak

SEATTLE — People had to be evacuated from their homes after a car crashed into a natural gas line in Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood.

Witnesses say the driver was barreling down Highland Park Way Southwest, lost control, jumped the curb and then flipped and landed upside down on a natural gas substation at Southwest Holden Street shortly before midnight Thursday.

Workers are repairing the damage.

There were two people in the car. One of them had serious injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center and is expected to survive. The other was not seriously hurt.

Residents in the apartment adjacent to the crash were immediately evacuated by firefighters and police. The evacuation zone was then extended for a two-block radius because of the danger.

%

%

People on a Metro bus spotted the driver speeding by them right before the crash.

“Saw the car flip over into the gas line and I ran over to it and saw two guys struggling inside,” said witness Adam Goodrich. "They lost control. They were going about 80 miles an hour or so we decided, and went straight into the hill."

More than 150 people were told to evacuate and buses were brought in to keep them warm while they waited.

Once the gas was turned off several hours later, they were allowed to return to their homes.

Cox Media Group