May 9—Seattle Firefighters determined a post office building is safe to reoccupy after a pickup truck drove into it.
At 1:48 p.m., dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call reporting a vehicle into the West Seattle Post Office located in the 2700 block of SW Trenton Street. When firefighters arrived they found the driver of the pickup truck uninjured but still inside the truck’s cab.
Concerned about the structural integrity of the building, firefighters evacuated three dozen patrons and employees of the facility. The pickup truck damaged a concrete/brick column and two large windows as it made entry into the lobby.
One female postal customer was knocked to the floor when a metal shelf fell into her. Medics evaluated and treated her for minor scrapes and bruises.
The Technical Rescue Team used shoring equipment and high powered air bags to lift the concrete column off of the pickup truck. The truck was towed from the property.
The Seattle Police Department is investigating the cause of the accident.