KOMO News, Seattle
SEATTLE - A truck driver who found himself barreling out of control down a steep hill in downtown Seattle says he didn't have time to think about what was happening to him - he only had time to react.
John Garrett says he realized his brakes weren't working when he turned on to James Street on Sunday afternoon.
"I didn't look at the speedometer," Garrett explained. "It felt like I was going 50 or 60, just rocketing down the street."
Security cameras from the Smith Tower caught it all on tape.
Somehow, Garrett managed to miss pedestrians and dodge cars as he sped through intersections until the truck overturned and smashed into the side of the 'Sinking Ship' parking garage in Pioneer Square, crashing into several parked cars on the way.
"I know I went through two red lights at least, because there were two sets of pedestrians jumping out of the way," Garrett said. "I feel really bad. I wish that it just hadn't happened. It could have gone a lot worse than it did."
Police say Garrett dodged a loaded Metro bus and several cars, but Garrett doesn't remember most of it. He says it was all a blur.
Through everything that happened, Garrett says he was focused on one thing: bringing the truck to a stop. "I realized I had to stop it somehow without hurting anybody. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that I might have injured somebody inadvertently," Garrett explained.
Amazingly, no one was injured in Sunday's accident, except for Garrett who walked away with a few minor cuts and bruises.
"It was more scary thinking about not being able to avoid cars," he said. "I wasn't afraid of dying at all."
Last edited by Quint on Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: A True Hero: Truck veers out of control after brakes fai
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:25 pm
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 4:50 pm Posts: 3955 Location: Leaving Here
Quote:
Somehow, Garrett managed to miss pedestrians and dodge cars as he sped through intersections until the truck overturned and smashed into the side of the 'Sinking Ship' parking garage in Pioneer Square, crashing into several parked cars on the way.
Not alot of room in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle (if memory serves correctly,...yes, the images show this....); it's truely astonishing someone wasn't hit.
Post subject: Re: A True Hero: Truck veers out of control after brakes fai
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:23 pm
too drunk to moderate properly
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
Quint wrote:
I think (hope) most of us would have reacted the same way. It's unbelievable that nobody was hurt.
No way I would keep my wits about me enough to flip that truck. Had I been in that truck, people would have died.
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I get nervous every time I drive it!
