2 trapped in vehicle, thousands lose power due to downed poles



TUKWILA, Wash. -- Downed power poles and lines temporarily trapped two people in a car in Tukwila Friday and caused more than 16,000 Seattle City Light customers to lose power.

Tukwila Police said on Twitter that the power outage was reported at about 3:50 p.m. Friday, around the same time police responded to a collision on East Marginal Way South near the Museum of Flight.



Tukwila Police say the two people were extracted from the vehicle by about 5:30 p.m. One of them was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

A total of 26 poles fell down along the mile and a quarter stretch of E. Marginal Way. The road was closed between 16th Avenue S and S Norfolk Street, and officials say it will take days to fix the damage.



Power was knocked out to more than 16,500 Seattle City Light customers. Power was restored to all but 310 of them as of 8:58 p.m. Friday.

The Seattle Fire Department says the cause of the downed poles is not known at this time.  The pole lines had been checked or replaced recently, and some of the poles that fell were only 5 years old, officials said. The typical life span of a pole line is between 50 and 60 years.



The Associated Press contributed to this report