Seattle non-profit loses skate park after loaded Metro bus smashes through wall

SEATTLE — A Seattle non-profit that aims to help at-risk youth through skateboarding recently lost its key indoor skate park after a King County Metro bus crashed into the building.

INVESTIGATION:

Seattle police told KIRO 7 News they received a call about a crash involving a Metro bus and a vehicle on South Jackson Street Wednesday at about 6 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found both vehicles at the scene.

There were no reported serious injuries from the crash.

A spokesperson for King County Metro told KIRO 7 News the bus driver for the Route 14 bus was driving eastbound on South Jackson Street at about 5:45 p.m. when another vehicle cut the bus driver off, which then forced the bus driver to swerve and slam into a building.

King County Metro is currently investigating the crash.

No one inside the bus or building was injured, the spokesperson added.

Around 25 passengers were on the bus during the crash.

BUILDING INSPECTOR:

Wendy Shark, a spokesperson for the City of Seattle, told KIRO 7 News an inspector tagged the building with an emergency order Thursday, which only allows the owner and the tenant to enter the building.

“The owner must hire a licensed structural engineer to determine how badly the bus compromised a column in the building,” Shark wrote. “In order to remove the yellow tag, they will have to prepare a stabilization and repair plan.”

“We asked them to wait to remove the bus until a structural engineer assesses the site because it is just not clear if pulling it out will cause more damage,” he continued.

SKATE LIKE A GIRL:

KIRO 7 News reached out to Skate Like a Girl, the non-profit including members of the LGBTQ+ community, which owns the skate park inside the building.

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Skate Like a Girl

The non-profit was created in Olympia in 2000 and now has chapters in Seattle, Portland, The Bay Area, and affiliates across the world.

The organization serves around 10,000 members every year, and the Seattle chapter supports a third of that total number.

The bus crashed into the warehouse, which had around 30 students, said Kristin Ebeling, executive director of the non-profit.

“When I heard about it, I was gutted,” she added. “As much as I was so grateful that no one was injured, I also had this deep pit of despair.”

Finn Bradberry, director of the Seattle Chapter of Skate Like a Girl said, “This will definitely have a really big effect on the youth.”

“Not just the youth who participated in our programs, but we also have a teen volunteer program that we run, and a lot of our staff members are young people,” he continued.

Ebeling said the organization hosts different free and low-cost programs for the youth and the LGBTQ+ communities, including free equipment.

“All of those supplies right now are dispersed throughout the community so it’s a top priority for us to find storage space,” Ebeling said.

“It’s the bare minimum of what we absolutely need to operate, but ideally we would find another space,” he continued.

A number of those programs also serve as childcare for many families within under-served communities.

“A lot of parents rely on our skateboarding programming as an option for their childcare and we have a solid amount of young people signed up already for that mid-winter break camp,” Ebeling said.

“So, we’re really hoping we can find a space to host our camp for at least that week because we want to be there for the working families that need an affordable space for their kids to come and be active and meet friends,” Ebeling said.

IMPACT ON STUDENTS AND MEMBERS:

KIRO 7 News spoke with Tomas Lennon, who was inside the building and witnessed the crash.

“People were also very scared,” he said.

Lennon said he jumped into action and immediately helped other students inside the building.

“It was definitely a lot more scary for me though because as a person who works with Skate Like a Girl, you want to make sure no one was hurt.”

Many children and teens within the community have already felt the rippling effects caused by the bus crash.

“It’s a home away from home for a lot of people so not having this place to go to is going to affect a lot of people in a bad way.” He said, “I met a lot of cool people there that I may not be able to see again because this is the only place that I was able to see them on a certain day. It’s really sad and it really affected me in a hard way.”

Carlee Heger, who often visits the indoor skate park multiple times a week said “skateboarding has saved my life.”

She said the non-profit’s programs have helped her and her peers find support through shared unique experiences.

“It helps people from all different backgrounds and ages come together and build courage, confidence, and community.” She added, “It’s a home away from home for a lot of people. So, it’s really tragic this space may not be, we may not be able to use this space again.”

“My friends and my community are all through skateboarding. Skate Like a Girl has changed my life,” she shared.

PROGRAM MANAGER POSSIBLY SAVED LIVES:

Members told KIRO 7 News that the area where the bus had crashed is a place where the youth often hang out.

“Where the bus crashed in the building is a spot where people frequently hang out or skate,” said Heger.

“It’s like nothing short of a miracle,” said Ebeling. “It still gives me chills talking about it.”

Spirit Miska, a program manager for the non-profit was leading a free skate session that evening, which started at 4 p.m.

She told KIRO 7 News that she had reorganized the event’s layout, including the area where the bus crashed.

“I moved all of the skate obstacles from under that area,” said Spirit. “I just wanted to change the space up.”

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