6 hurt when van jumps curb, hits pedestrians in downtown Seattle



SEATTLE -- Six people were hurt when a shuttle driver apparently suffered a medical emergency and crashed into a group of pedestrians Thursday morning in downtown Seattle.

Assistant Police Chief Marc Garth Green said the vehicle did not accelerate and there was "nothing obvious to make this an intentional act or deliberate."

Authorities were called just before noon to the report of a van into a building near 5th Ave. and Pine Street.

The van jumped the sidewalk and struck a Gap store. The vehicle was a shuttle express van, which ferries passengers throughout the metro area.



A total of six people were taken to area hospitals including the driver, four pedestrians who were struck by the van and a fifth pedestrian who was hit by falling glass. There was one passenger inside the van who was not hurt.

One patient was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center. Four others were listed as serious.



The crash was blocking all southbound lanes of Pine Street, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation. All westbound traffic was blocked on 5th Ave.

Officers were diverting traffic in the area and said to expect the intersection to remain closed for a while.

Seattle police are investigating.