RAINIER VALLEY – A 79-year-old woman was struck by an SUV and critically injured Friday morning while jaywalking across busy Rainier Avenue South, witnesses and police said.
Seattle police and medics responded to the scene, at 23rd Avenue South and Rainier Avenue South, at about 8:55 a.m. after receiving a report of a car hitting a pedestrian.
The woman was treated at the scene then transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, including “significant head injuries,” police said.
Seattle police spokeswoman Renee Witt said the woman was struck by a vehicle that was heading north on Rainier Avenue in the right lane.
Mark Blowers, a witness who saw the accident, said the woman started walking across the street without waiting for the “walk” signal.
“There was no way the driver could have seen her. The driver hit her. The lady fell back and hit her head first,” Blowers said. “I was waiting to cross at the same light – and it was not OK to cross.”
He said the woman was bleeding and appeared to be very seriously injured.
Blowers added that he sees people running across Rainier Avenue every day without waiting for the “walk” signal, usually in an effort to catch the Metro bus.
Police investigate at the scene of the accident.
