Van jumps Seattle sidewalk, hits pedestrians, at least 5 injured

[December 29, 2017]  (Reuters) - A van driver who apparently passed out jumped his vehicle onto a downtown Seattle sidewalk, hit pedestrians and crashed into a building on Thursday, injuring at least five people, police said.

The incident did not appear to be deliberate, a police official told local media. The driver of the commercial passenger van suffered a medical episode and lost consciousness just before the crash.

Four people were hit by the van and one person was injured by shards of glass from a store window smashed by the vehicle, police said. At least two people were in serious condition. The driver was also taken to an area hospital, police said.

Seattle TV station KOMO quoted witnesses Amani Wright as saying: "He literally jumped the curb and smacked them."

The Seattle police and fire departments posted photos on social media of a white van with a dented left side that was stopped about a yard (meter) from the side of a downtown store.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Tom Brown and Sandra Maler)

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Rescue personnel attend the scene where a van mounted a sidewalk outside a GAP store in downtown Seattle, Washington, U.S. December 28, 2017. Seattle Fire Department/Handout via REUTERS