Washington State Patrol reported 18 people injured after 2 buses with Navy personnel crashed on I-5 express lanes in Seattle. Multiple news outlets reported that the crash occurred when one bus slowed down but the bus following the first one didn’t slow down in time. This caused the two buses to collide. There were more than 60 sailors on board the buses.
Seattle Fire reported that they treated 18 people at the scene. None were placed in ICU and were all in stable condition. Harborview Medical Center confirmed to the media that the hospital received 10 patients beginning at 8:10 a.m. Monday as a result of the crash. There were seven men and three women between 20 and 30 years old. According to the Navy, three other patients were transported elsewhere for treatment of minor injuries.
The collision between the two buses took place on southbound Interstate 5. After the crash injured 18 people, the express lanes were closed in Seattle for hours during Monday morning. According to the Naval Surface Forces, the sailors were traveling from Naval Station Everett to their ships which are currently under maintenance on Harbor Island. The sailors are stationed aboard the USS John Paul Jones, Chosin, and the USS Cape St. George.
It has also been reported that the buses were not the property of the Navy but were carrying Navy personnel. Harborview said they initially treated the incident as a “mass casualty event.” All patients injured related to the crash were discharged by Monday evening.
Crews responded just before 8 a.m. after the pair of buses were reported to have collided on southbound I-5 near Mercer Street. All patients taken to Harborview Medical Center were discharged by Monday afternoon. The crash was originally called a “mass casualty event.” The express lanes to Stewart Street were closed for about two hours due to the crash Monday morning, according to Washington State Patrol. They reopened around 10:30 a.m.
