'My heart stopped:' Passenger injured in SR 520 bridge accident tells story



SEATTLE -- Whitney Lee is lucky to be alive. She sat in the back of the Metro bus as it crossed the 520 bridge. Then there was a crash -- and the bus shook.

"All the lights went off, everyone started screaming and some people were crying," Lee said. "Everyone was trying to get out so fast and I landed wrong on my ankle so it hurt pretty bad when I landed."

As a massive pipe that fell from a construction crane smashed through the bus, something hit Lee in the head. But she said she didn't realize how bad she was hurt until she got onto the street.

Photo: KCPQ



"I was just looking around for a minute and I felt something on my face and I touched my face and there was blood everywhere and I touched my head and I realized the blood was dripping on the street," she said.

Aid cars rushed Lee and seven other people to Harborview Medical Center. Doctors used staples to close the large cut on the left side of her head.

Lee says she is grateful to be alive.

"I'm just happy to still be here. Hug my mom and my friends and my dog."