Pedestrians injured near Pike Place Market when car loses control

Three pedestrians were injured when a car went out of control near the Pike Place Market late Thursday morning.

Seattle police said the driver was arrested and was being evaluated Thursday for impairment. He was booked in King County Jail on charges of vehicular assault.

According to Seattle police Sgt. Bill Robertson, the vehicle that went out of control was heading down Stewart Street past First Avenue toward the outdoor market, a major city landmark where fish, flowers and fresh produce is sold daily.

The car side-swiped a parked car, continued driving and went off the street onto the south sidewalk, striking the three pedestrians.

Police said the driver crashed into a parked produce truck, pinning a 25-year-old woman between the driver's car and the truck and causing the truck to crash into two other parked cars, both of which were unoccupied. A 57-year-old man who was crossing the street was struck and thrown from the hood of the driver's car. A second woman, 54, was only grazed by the car.

All three pedestrians were taken to Harborview Medical Center, where according to spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson, the women are in satisfactory condition and the man is in serious condition.

None of them have life-threatening injuries, she said.

A witness in the market, Chantal Johnson, said the man was struck as he was crossing Stewart Street with a woman, who wasn't injured.

"It was the most horrific thing I've ever witnessed," Johnson said.

A second woman was struck but it isn't clear where she was when she was injured.

Heong Park, owner of Bacco's Restaurant, said the driver of the car that went out of control hit his restaurant sign and then "Boom, the building shook."

It was loud, he said. "It was scary."

He went out to see what was going on and saw the woman pinned between the car and the parked produce truck. He thought she was pretty badly hurt.

Park said the driver got out of the car and was talking to people and it didn't seem as though anything was wrong with him.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com