Route 5 collision update
We at King County Metro love and appreciate how riders as a community step up when someone needs help. Last month, a transit operator on Metro Route 5 suffered a medical emergency and lost control of his bus, which collided with several vehicles on Greenwood Avenue in north Seattle.
Today we released the onboard video of the incident to media outlets that requested it. The video shows the bus striking several parked vehicles and colliding with a truck. Several riders rushed forward to help the operator, steering the rolling bus to a stop against a sidewalk curb.
We’re happy to report our transit operator is on his path to recovery.
“We’re grateful to the riders who came to the aid of our transit operator. They showed true bravery to overcome the fear and confusion of the moment, to step up and do everything they could to stop the bus,” Metro General Manager Michelle Allison said.
“Thank you to Ernie Makinson, who helped grab the steering wheel and guide the bus away from danger, and thank you to Betty Rose Nelson, who quickly called 911 to bring first responders to our operator’s aid and stayed by his side. They and others proved they are the best riders in the world, and we extend our most heartfelt thanks.”
“Due to their efforts, further tragedy was avoided, for which we are deeply grateful.”
We are working to support the needs of bus riders affected in this incident through King County’s claims process, as well as processing claims by owners of the parked vehicles that were damaged by the bus on March 18.
We’re relieved that incidents like this are exceedingly rare. Our commitment to providing safe, clean, and reliable Metro service remains unwavering, and we’re here to deliver what hundreds of thousands of riders depend on across King County every day.
Can you restore the Route 5X extension to stop at the N 145th St layover bus stop
Metro made it clear they don’t care about making their buses faster or more efficient.
They want to delete all express routes in favor for slow indirect service with a stop every block.
Also I haven’t seen any indication of them caring to improve the transfer experience. They seem to cater most to riders who use Metro to travel down the street for local trips rather than riders who want to take multiple buses or go farther lengths.
I hope they change that, because they’d gain a lot of riders if they reimplements X routes and add back freeway express service.