A 37-year-old man riding an electric scooter was struck and killed by a minivan early Tuesday at the intersection of 24th Avenue NW and NW 85th Street in North Seattle, according to the Seattle Police Department. A bus driver found the man injured in the middle of the intersection and called 911 at 12:44 a.m., and Seattle Fire Department medics who responded attempted lifesaving efforts before he died at the scene.
The Seattle Police Department, in a post on X, said detectives were investigating a fatality collision near the intersection and closed the roadway to traffic, advising people to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Per Seattle Police Department, the minivan was traveling westbound on NW 85th Street when it struck the man. The driver, a 16-year-old, returned to the scene and cooperated with investigators, police said. The incident has been logged under report number 2026-236362 and assigned to the North Precinct.
Seattle Fire Department real-time dispatch logs show Engine 18, Engine 35, and Medic 18 were sent to the intersection at 12:42 a.m. under incident response F260112755, just minutes ahead of the 911 call reported by police. Detective Shane Weatherford, who authored the police account of the collision, said a drug recognition expert evaluated the 16-year-old driver and found no signs of impairment. The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is now examining the circumstances that led to the crash.
Curfew Law Could Loom Over Investigation
The timing of the crash — shortly before 1 a.m. — puts it right at the edge of a state driving restriction that could become relevant to the investigation. Under Washington's Intermediate Driver's License law, 16-year-old drivers are barred from driving unsupervised between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver at least 25 years old is in the vehicle, according to Swerve Driving School. It remains an open question whether the teen driver held an intermediate license or was accompanied by a qualifying adult at the time of the collision, and whether any citations will follow once the reconstruction is complete.
Questions also remain about the scooter itself. State law requires electric scooters ridden between a half-hour after sunset and a half-hour before sunrise to carry a visible white front lamp and rear reflectors, per rules cited by MRSC. Whether the scooter involved Tuesday was personal or a shared rental, and whether it was properly lit, has not been disclosed by investigators. Seattle's municipal rules cap e-scooter speeds at 15 mph and restrict their use to streets posted 25 mph or lower, according to guidance published by Gyroor.
A Corridor Already Flagged for Danger
NW 85th Street is not an unfamiliar name in Seattle's traffic safety data. The corridor is listed on the Seattle Department of Transportation's High Injury Network, a designation that led the city to lower arterial speed limits along the stretch to 25 mph in an effort to curb severe crashes. The intersection also sits along a stretch of NW 85th Street planned for King County Metro's future RapidRide Corridor 6, connecting Ballard and Northgate as a major east-west route across North Seattle, according to regional transit planning documents.
The crash adds to a grim tally the city has been tracking closely. A Seattle City Council presentation in April reported that 27 people died in Seattle traffic crashes in 2025, including 18 pedestrians and four people biking or riding e-scooters, a decline from 31 total fatalities the year before. That same month, the council's transportation committee asked the City Auditor to conduct a performance audit of the city's Vision Zero program, questioning whether street redesigns alone are enough to curb risky driving behavior. SPD's North Precinct, which oversees patrol and initial crash response in the area, reported in July that overall crime in the precinct fell 1.73% year-over-year, with traffic activity remaining concentrated along major arterials like N 85th Street.
The fatality follows other recent deadly crashes across the region, including a fatal I-5 incident in Federal Way reported Monday. No further details on potential charges or citations against the 16-year-old driver have been released, and the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad's reconstruction of the crash is ongoing.
