SUV becomes airborne; 2 people injured

Two people were injured and traffic backed up for miles after a sport-utility vehicle went out of control on Interstate 405 early Thursday, hitting a median barrier and becoming airborne twice before coming to rest on top of concrete barriers at an entrance ramp in the Totem Lake area.

Washington State Patrol troopers responded to calls from motorists about 6 a.m. and found the black Honda Pilot balanced on a safety wall on the northbound entrance ramp from Northeast 124th Street, said Trooper Cliff Pratt, patrol public-information officer.

The male driver, 39, from Seattle, and his female passenger, 42, were trapped in the vehicle and firefighters had to use tools to extricate them, said Pratt.

The driver was taken to Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland and the passenger to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, both with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Both occupants were wearing seat belts, said Pratt. The wreck was visible to southbound drivers in morning rush-hour traffic, who slowed to look at the crash, tying up traffic for hours. The northbound I-405 entrance ramp was closed for more than two hours during the accident investigation.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259

or pwhitely@seattletimes.com