Falling Power Poles Hit Car, Barely Missing Cyclist

Tukwila police release video of power poles falling onto car, barely missing cyclist



Two people were discharged from the hospital late Friday after 24 power poles came crashing down Friday on East Marginal Way, with at least one plunging into their car and trapping them in a tangle of wood and live wires for more than an hour.



Crews had to deactivate the lines as they worked their way in to rescue the two people, who were pulled out around 5:15 p.m. Somehow, despite the dangerous spectacle, neither suffered life-threatening injuries. They were quickly said to be in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center and later released, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg.



For reasons that were not clear Friday, the poles fell shortly before 4 p.m. at East Marginal Way South and South 94th Place in front of the Museum of Flight, according to a tweet from Tukwila police. Seattle City Light spokesman Tony White said the two dozen poles came down in “an apparent domino effect.”



Seattle City Light wasn’t sure what brought the poles down and was working Friday to get surveillance footage from nearby to offer clues, White said. He said one witness described seeing lightning strike a pole before it fell, but meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Seattle said there were no lightning strikes in Western Washington on Friday.