Scene in Edmonds: Crash course in doing the splits

tree split 2 2014

A resident captured this photos of a utility pole that was split in the area of 7th Avenue and Walnut Street in Edmonds early Sunday morning, June 8 after a car hit it.

Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marsh confirmed the details of the report, noting that the driver of the Volkswagen was speeding east on Walnut Street about 2:10 a.m. when the car went airborne at 7th Avenue. The driver lost control of the car and it crossed the center line and hit the utility pole, spinning the vehicle around.

A second car that was following the Volkswagen picked up the car’s driver, but police stopped the car a short distance from the scene, Marsh said. The driver faces charges of hit-and-run and second-degree negligent driving, both misdemeanors, he added.

The VW was speeding east on Walnut, went airborne at 7th, front of car it the hill, airbag went off, lost control, just missed a car on the south side of the street, crossed the centerline and hit the pole spinning car around. A red car came down the hill with lights off, stopped, picked up the people and took off north on 7th. They were caught at 8th & Main for questioning finally admitting to it.

  1. On our walk this morning down Sunset, we walked past a car going about 50 miles an hour and also noticed (correct me if I’m wrong) but there only appears to be one 20 mph street sign from Main St. to top of Sunset. We have also noticed that compared to some other small towns, Edmonds has too few signs, too few safety clear markers on street,s lines and raised markers on streets, etc. I would gladly pay higher taxes to have this resolved. We were just driving around Mill Creek on Sunday, and it appears to be very WELL MARKED and particularily for PEDESTRIANS at that shopping area. And I still don’t understand why the pedestrian marker where Ms. Bonano was killed is still in the wrong place. We have looked at other areas and quite often see a marker with a sillouette walker FIRST , and then at the exact crossing area a pedestrian sillouette AND an arrow pointing down at the spot….Also, designated white lines on the street. Doesn’t that make sense.

    Is there anybody in this city listening and planning on doing something about this?!!…..Our streets are not safe.

    1. If you want to be heard by city staff, or city elected officials, you need to contact them directly or go speak at a city council meeting. Don’t expect comments on this site to get you the action you desire.

  2. I too have seen cars speeding on Edmonds streets. It is frustrating. The old line, “where is a cop when you need one” comes to mind. They can’t be everywhere. And ultimately it doesn’t matter how many signs are put up or lines are drawn, he laws are still the laws and anyone with a drivers license had to learn them. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

    Short of putting traffic lights and speed bumps all over town I don’t believe speeding can be stopped. The Walnut St. accidents are examples of negligence pure and simple. Why would anyone speed UP Walnut at 2:10 am? My guess is that it was someone who was either an inexperienced driver (kid) or drunk, possibly both. No lines or speed limit signs will stop that behavior. Also, the poor lady that was hit and died at 4th and Bell was within a marked crosswalk and the driver that hit her was not speeding according to reports.

    I drive in Edmonds pretty much every day. I go out of my way to go around the business core because of the way people drive and walk in the area. It sometimes seems like people are in their own world, daydreaming about a world where they could move about as they like and everyone around them can’t enter their space.

    Edmonds has the ferry terminal, a train station, a tourist attracting downtown. Maybe something can be done by the city to increase the safety but it will take a lot more than signs and lines.

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