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

Airport SEA TAC airport
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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. 

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.