Car Crashes Into Seattle Building, Sparking Major Fire & Impacting Traffic

An early-morning single-car crash sparked a fire that closed off several roads in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood on Wednesday (June 29).

According to the Seattle Fire Department, first responders received reports shortly before 7 a.m. that a car had crashed into a commercial building in the 700 block of South Michigan Street, per King 5. The caller added that the car's engine had caught fire and was spreading into the building.

Officials arrived on the scene to find both the car and building in flames, but the driver was nowhere to be seen. As firefighters quickly worked to extinguish the 2-alarm fire, Seattle Fire received word that Seattle Police officers found the driver, identified only as a 35-year-old man, a couple blocks from the scene of the crash.

"That's one of the reasons why we added additional resources because we had a patient that was approximately two blocks away," said a spokesperson for the department. "So we needed additional resources for that person, plus, to check inside the building for any possible victims."

According to the news outlet, all lanes of South Michigan Street were closed around the site of the crash for around two hours, to allow officials time to respond to the scene. All lanes were reopened to traffic around 9 a.m.

The crash caused an estimated $185,000 in damages. Investigators with Seattle Fire attribute the crash to a "person in crisis." He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. As of 1 p.m., no other injuries have been reported.