1 killed, 5 injured in pedicab collision in Belltown

One person was killed and five injured when a pedicab collided with a scooter and a van shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday at a busy Belltown intersection.

Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said preliminary witness statements indicated a pedicab with two passengers may have suffered an equipment failure and was coming downhill westbound on the sidewalk of Cedar Street when it entered the intersection with Western Avenue against the red light. The pedicab collided with a scooter and then with a white van, he said.

A 60-year-old male passenger of the pedicab died at the scene. A female passenger, also 60, and the male pedicab driver, 23, were transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Kappel said.

The male scooter driver, 57; the male van driver, 20; and his female passenger were all treated at the scene.

Vinnie Brassesco, who lives in an apartment building at Western Avenue and Cedar Street, saw the aftermath of the accident.

"I was sitting in my apartment, and I heard a boom. Really loud. I looked out. One guy was under the van, the other guy was pressed up against the front tire, and the lady was laying in the road," he said.

Another witness, Deborah Hudlow, who was sitting on the 11th floor deck of her condominium, said "The first thing I heard was a scream. It sounded like a woman. And as I turned my head I heard the impact. And then I saw the pedicab pretty much up in the air."

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com