Close calls for WA mass transit, busy traffic routes during 'bomb cyclone' storm

Tuesday’s windstorm took a toll on mass transit and busy traffic routes in western Washington. 

There were several close calls in the storm that had the potential to cause dozens of injuries. Fortunately, no one was severely hurt.

In King County alone, there were 32 downed trees reported to Washington State Patrol. However, Trooper Rick Johnson said that was only a fraction of the windstorm’s aftermath. WSP said there were 11 car/tree collisions reported in King County, and many more calls of debris in the road.

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Credit: WSP

WSP said crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation worked for hours on State Route 18 and State Route 169 to remove downed trees and reopen lanes.

King County Metro said a tree crushed part of the roof of a bus on Route 65 in Seattle. The bus driver was reported to be okay, and officials said there weren’t any passengers on board when it happened. 

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Bomb cyclone winds topple tree onto bus in Seattle

Powerful winds from Tuesday night's bomb cyclone caused a tree to fall onto a Seattle Metro bus in the city’s Wedgwood neighborhood overnight.

Crews spent much of Wednesday morning cutting up the tree and cleaning the debris.

There were 48 passengers on board Amtrak train 519, traveling from Vancouver B.C., when it hit a fallen tree in the storm. Amtrak officials said it happened in Silvana, Washington around 7:50 p.m. Tuesday.

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Credit: WSDOT, Amtrak

The crash disabled the train, and the engineer was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and treatment before being released.

Crews worked to clear the tree from the train and tracks, then assessed the damage. Amtrak arranged alternate transportation to take the passengers from Snohomish County to Seattle.

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