An SUV jumped the curb on northbound Aurora Avenue North at North 79th Street just before 3:30 this afternoon, knocking over a fire hydrant and hitting a pedestrian from behind.
Medics performed CPR on the man before transporting him to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
Traffic on Aurora was blocked in both directions by emergency vehicles. Seattle Police were diverting traffic onto Green Lake Way.
Update Wednesday 11 a.m.: Here’s the report from the SPD Blotter:
On December 27th at approximately 3:28 p.m. officers responded to 911 calls of a vehicle/pedestrian collision with injuries in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North. Preliminary investigation indicates that a male pedestrian in his 20′s was walking northbound in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North on the east side sidewalk. An adult male driver was also traveling northbound in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North in a Jeep SUV.
For reasons yet to be determined, the driver veered off the roadway and onto the sidewalk. The driver struck the pedestrian who then struck his head on a steel-beamed store sign. The vehicle continued on, striking a fire hydrant and coming to rest after striking a telephone pole head on.
SFD medics responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The driver was not injured and declined medical attention.
Officers interviewed the driver and released him from the scene pending further investigation. There were no citations issued at the scene, which is standard procedure in serious traffic collisions requiring extensive follow-up investigation and collision reconstruction.
Northbound Aurora Avenue was closed to one lane of travel for approximately 90 minutes while officers and detectives conducted their on-scene investigation.
Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.
