Three hurt at Seattle Tacoma airport after car crashes into departures building

Three people, including a child, were hospitalized after a car crashed into the departures building at Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA) on May 17, 2023. 

The airport confirmed the incident via a post on Twitter, and also advised that the Upper Departures Drive was closed. 

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A vehicle collision has occurred on the Upper Departures Drive. Port of Seattle Police and Fire are on scene. The Departures drive is currently closed. Please use the Lower Arrivals Drive for drop off. We will provide an update as we have more info. pic.twitter.com/IiMAuvVI4A

— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) May 17, 2023

Seattle Fire and Police were called to the scene.

The crash occurred near the Alaska Airlines check-in area at around 14:00 local time.

Dan Schulz, a witness to the incident, told local media KIRO 7 that the scene was “just like chaos”.

“All of a sudden I heard just this huge noise, it sounded like an explosion,” Schulz said. 

“I instantly turned around and saw the truck coming to a stop and a truck basically ran into the airport and it sounded almost like the person, I don’t know if this is the case but it sounded to me like the person stepped on the gas and drove into kind of a crowd, a crowded part of the airport,” Schulz added.

Investigations found that the crash was unintentional, but no information has been released yet regarding the cause.