Thursday, April 17, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Garfield softball teams' bus hits bridge
Seattle Times staff reporters
A bus carrying Garfield High School's varsity and junior-varsity softball teams crashed into a low pedestrian bridge in the Washington Park Arboretum on Wednesday, sending two dozen students and others to the hospital.
The private charter bus apparently was too tall for a 9-foot underpass in the 2100 block of Lake Washington Boulevard East, near the Highway 520 onramp.
"All of a sudden, you hear this scraping, awful noise," said Sigrid Williams, 17, a softball player who had been on board. She said her head slammed into the seat in front of her when the bus crashed about 6 p.m.
Five of the girls were taken immediately by ambulances to Harborview Medical Center with neck and back pain, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
The remaining 19 passengers were later taken to Harborview for evaluation. There were 22 high-school softball players, a coach and a driver on board at the time of the accident.
The front right side of the white bus was completely crushed. The windshield shattered, and some of the side panels broke off.
The footbridge that the bus hit was marked with a "Low Clearance" sign.
The driver, who declined to give his name, said he has been driving for a year and a half for Journey Lines, a Lynnwood-based charter-bus company.
Steve Abegg, a spokesman for Journey Lines, said driving through the arboretum is not a normal route.
"We're cooperating with authorities and completing a thorough investigation. We'll release a statement when we have it," he said.
The softball team was returning from a game against Lake Washington High School at Crestwoods Park in Kirkland. Garfield lost the game 10-0.
Lauren Vane: 206-464-2926 or lvane@seattletimes.com;
Haley Edwards: 206-464-2745 or hedwards@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 01:44 PM
List grows; 9 Seattle schools could be cut
UPDATE - 11:45 AM
Starbucks CFO: Company may miss 1Q profit estimate
Jerry Large: Correction? Try a connection
NEW - 02:49 PM
Abuse charges filed in assault of 2-year-old now in a coma
NEW - 11:57 AM
All viaduct options are unfriendly to pedestrians, study finds

nwjobs


Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Dotcom Reunion Party -- tonight, Dec. 1
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new SUV? Weigh the impact your choice will have on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Baby dies sleeping in car with parents in Lakewood
- Huskies Coaching Search | Texas Tech coach Mike Leach meets with UW
- Relative of slain Carnation family talks about the aftermath
- Mariners sign free agent Russell Branyan, hire Rick Adair, John Wetteland as coaches
- USC's Steve Sarkisian is added to Washington's coach list
- Atheists want God out of Ky. homeland security
- "Impeach Bush" ornament nixed
- State suspends Seattle doctor's license in sex case
- Mumbai attackers went high-tech
- Fox shows Olympia sign; calls come pouring in
- Danny Westneat | Real-estate bargains in the mist
- Michelle Obama's family: From slavery to White House
- Ancient pot stash found in China
- Washington banks trail industry in key indicators
- No woman is an island — unless she's on San Juan, offseason
- Ex-prosecutor's review finds fraud at Port of Seattle
- Nancy Leson | Good old Abruzzi's is back
- Huskies Coaching Search | Texas Tech coach Mike Leach meets with UW
- List grows; 9 Seattle schools could be cut
- "Impeach Bush" ornament nixed









