A vehicle traveling northbound on Willows Road NE left the roadway, traveled down an adjacent trail, and crashed into a utility pole in the 11600 block Friday evening, igniting a fire that engulfed the car and leaving high-voltage power lines dangling over the street. The driver suffered burns and was taken to a local hospital, according to police.
According to a post from RedmondWaPD, officers responded to the crash and fire in the 11600 block of Willows Road NE, and the vehicle became engulfed in flames after striking the pole. Willows Road NE was shut down in both directions from the 10800 block to NE 116th Street as crews worked the scene, and the department urged drivers to avoid the area and use an alternate route.
A Trail Built for Bikes, Not Cars
The stretch of pavement the vehicle traveled down before hitting the pole is part of the Redmond Central Connector Phase III extension, a 1.6-mile paved and lighted multi-use trail completed in summer 2025 that links Downtown Redmond to the regional Eastrail network, as reported by The Urbanist. The trail runs directly alongside Willows Road NE, putting pedestrians and cyclists in close proximity to the corridor where the crash unfolded. Regional trail connections in the area were further expanded in October 2021, when the City of Kirkland completed a 1,800-foot link at NE 124th Street tying the Cross Kirkland Corridor into Redmond's trail network.
Willows Road NE also functions as a critical utility spine. The corridor carries high-voltage 115 kV transmission lines owned by Puget Sound Energy and runs past the utility's Sammamish Substation at 9221 Willows Road NE, according to a Puget Sound Energy fact sheet. It is not the first time infrastructure along this stretch has caused major disruption: in December 2013, a transformer fire at a Puget Sound Energy substation in the 9800 block knocked out power to 25,000 Eastside customers and shut down surrounding arterials for hours, per KING 5.
A Busy Commercial and Commuter Corridor
The 11600 block sits within Redmond's primary industrial and technology commercial district, which includes major employers such as medical device manufacturer Stryker Physio-Control at 11811 Willows Road NE. King County Metro's DART Route 930 also runs along the corridor, connecting the Kingsgate Park & Ride with the Redmond Transit Center, meaning a full closure of Willows Road NE could disrupt transit riders as well as drivers.
Speed limits on Willows Road NE and other major Redmond arterials are capped at 35 mph under Redmond Municipal Code 10.24.060 and City Council Ordinance No. 2804. Whether excessive speed contributed to Friday's crash has not been addressed by police, and the driver's current medical condition beyond the reported burn injuries has not been released.
Vision Zero Push Continues Amid Federal Safety Grant
The crash comes as Redmond continues to pursue its Vision Zero policy, adopted via Resolution No. 1559 in July 2022, which set a formal municipal goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injury collisions through data-driven redesigns and targeted enforcement. In December 2025, the city was awarded federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding to conduct citywide speed studies and roll out quick-build traffic calming measures on high-risk arterials, according to a press release from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell's office.
Redmond Police also routinely deploys its Drone First Responder program during major vehicle crashes, using aerial surveillance to help officers assess hazards such as downed power lines before ground crews move in — a tool the department has highlighted in several recent incidents, including a drone-assisted robbery chase reported this week. It remains unclear how quickly Puget Sound Energy crews will be able to safely clear the hanging live wires and allow Willows Road NE to reopen to traffic.
