For the second time in less than three months, the Starbucks at the corner of 67th and Phinney Avenue has been struck by a vehicle, this time by a black pickup truck which tore through the protective guardrail and into the front of the building shortly before 3 a.m.
The cause and whether the driver is injured is unknown, because no one was there when firefighters arrived, according to a Seattle Fire Department incident commander at the scene.
Amanda Watts, who lives about a block away, heard the crash and said it’s one of many. “We’re used to hearing car wrecks around here.”
It’s the latest in a string of accidents at the corner, the most recent one being Aug. 24 when another late-night driver hit the corner of the building.
Another neighbor, Diana Hartley, mentioned that accident as well. “This is not a good corner for accidents,” Hartley said, looking at the damaged building. “This is a bad, bad corner.”
Firefighters were preparing to have the pickup truck pulled from the building and were putting together a brace to shore up the building as the truck had taken out a load-bearing post.
No one from Starbucks was on the scene, but it’s probably safe to assume they won’t be open in the morning.
Update 9 a.m.: Starbucks is closed until further notice due to structural damage. Here’s what the damage looked like at 7 a.m.
Update 10 a.m.: PhinneyWood reader Mike Veitenhans sent us the photo below of John Shepherd, who owns the adjacent Red Mill Burgers as well as the building housing both Red Mill and Starbucks, inspecting the damage (he’s at center). With him is his brother, a contractor, and a Starbucks representative. Shepherd told Veitenhans that Red Mill (which is always closed on Mondays) plans to open as usual on Tuesday, but Starbucks will be closed for a few days. We’ll keep you posted on its re-opening.
Here’s Seattle Fire Department’s official press release on the incident from its Fire Line blog.
