SUV, streetcar collide; no one hurt

A sport-utility vehicle ran a red light Wednesday morning and was hit by one of the new South Lake Union streetcars, Seattle police said. No one was injured.

The crash at Mercer Street and Terry Avenue North happened at 7:28 a.m., when the SUV was going east toward Interstate 5. Its rear right panel was dented, and there was minor damage to the orange streetcar, which was soon restarted.

Seven passengers were aboard, city project director Ethan Melone said Thursday afternoon. Police initially said there were zero passengers.

The SUV driver told police he was maneuvering around a large puddle in the left lane of Mercer, then couldn't stop in time for a red light, according to police spokesman Mark Jamieson. The streetcar was heading north on Terry with a "go" signal.

Police issued a citation to the SUV driver for running the red light, Jamieson said. Police did not release the driver's name.

The intersection was cleared within a half-hour of the accident. Shortly after 1 p.m., the streetcar was brought back to the maintenance base.

The streetcars began service Dec. 12, from the Westin Hotel to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The 1.3-mile route has 11 stops.

This was the first streetcar collision reported to police, Jamieson said. There have been three other streetcar stoppages: one because of ball bearings in the tracks, another because of a power outage and, on Sunday, a car parked on the tracks had to be towed.

Information in this article, originally published Dec. 20, was corrected on Dec. 20. Police initially said zero passengers were aboard the streetcar at the time of the collision, but later said seven passengers were aboard.