‘Police Traffic Collision Report’ provides new details, more questions in crash that killed pedestrian at Pine and Bellevue
A rough diagram from the Police Traffic Collision Report
CHS has obtained the Police Traffic Collision Report for the deadly February collision at Pine and Bellevue and can report new details of what the Seattle Police Department’s preliminary investigation of the tragedy revealed.
The report is based on descriptions provided to police by a witness to the crash and details from the 34-year-old food delivery driver who struck and killed Lilli Moreno as she crossed E Pine that Monday night. Seattle Police investigators are continuing work on a more detailed report, the standard process for a fatality collision.
CHS reported earlier this week that city officials are already acting on the PCTR to assess the intersection for safety issues including the sudden removal of an old utility pole blocking the walk signal on the intersection’s southwest corner.
While a Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson told CHS the removal of the old pole was “not related to the incident,” the SPD collision report reveals it could have played a role in the tragedy.
According to the SPD report’s account from the witness and the driver, the delivery worker’s Prius was parked facing southbound on E Bellevue outside Kizuki Ramen as he made a pickup inside the E Pine restaurant. The driver, described as Unit 1 in the report, returned to his car with his delivery and began driving to turn westbound onto Pine from the restaurant when he struck Moreno — Unit 2 in the report:
Unit 1 went Southbound then was about to take a Westbound turn onto E Pine St. The driver of Unit 1 stated that he heard a noise and thought that he hit a traffic cone. When the driver of Unit 1 got out of the vehicle he realized that he had hit a pedestrian (Unit 2) and that she was under the vehicle. The driver of Unit 1 stated that he didn’t see Unit 2 when the Collison (sic) occurred
Police say a witness to the crash provided details about the signals at the time of the collision and a tragic sequence of events that played out.
According to the report, the Summit Ave resident was on the northwest corner of the intersection and crossing eastbound on E Pine before the crash occurred. The witness told police he had a green light and was ready to cross Bellevue when he saw the Prius approaching the intersection heading south and ready to turn right onto Pine:
“Witness advised that he waved down Unit 1 to take the turn before he crossed the street,” the report reads. “Witness then saw as Unit 1 collided into Unit 2.”
“Witness told officers that Unit 2 did not have the right of way to walk across the street.”
What the police report does not include is that a green light on Pine would have meant a red light on Bellevue. The intersection is one of hundreds in the city now marked with “No Turn on Red” restrictions.
It also does not include details of timing at the intersection and factors including “leading pedestrian interval” crossings in Seattle that give people a three to seven seconds head start before lights turn green in any direction.
And it doesn’t document the old utility pole in front of the walk signal at the time Moreno was hit.
The King County Medical Examiner said Moreno died when she was crushed under the vehicle in the 8 PM collision.
The Seattle Police Department said the driver was evaluated for drug and alcohol use and showed no signs of impairment.
No citations were issued at the time of the deadly collision.
The report does not include what delivery service the driver was working for at the time of the crash.
Moreno is remembered by loved ones as a friend and coworker “with backbone, big emotions and strong opinions.” She was listed at a South Seattle address in the SPD report.
Moreno was reportedly walking with a friend that night but the preliminary SPD report does not include details from additional witnesses.
More than a decade ago, Pine at Bellevue was identified as one of the most dangerous crossings for pedestrians along E Pine. Pike and Pine have been reconfigured in the years since. Last year, the city completed an overhaul that included transitioning portions of Pike and Pine to new one-way configurations. A SDOT spokesperson said the reconfiguration of Pike and Pine “did not include work at the Pine and Bellevue intersection where the collision occurred.”
Grassroots efforts have now taken place near the intersection to help make the crossing safer including printed signs and barriers dragged into the street to block parking near the delivery area or the nearby ramen restaurant.
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