Three Hurt As Out-Of-Control Car Careens Down Madison Street

A steep hill, a heavy car, a crowded street and a driver suffering a heart attack.

The combination at noon in downtown Seattle yesterday sent three people to the hospital, damaged six cars, and punched a hole in the side of a granite-faced building.

Police say it's lucky the 2-ton Lincoln Town Car came to a stop without doing more damage.

"You get that much weight rolling . . . those little cars aren't going to stop it," said Det. Paul Edwards of the Seattle Police Department's accident-investigation division.

Harry Tucker, 67, the driver of the car that careened down the steep hill of Madison Street, was in serious condition today at Harborview Medical Center. He was being treated for a heart attack. His wife, Mary Anna Tucker, 64, a passenger in the car, suffered minor injuries and was in serious condition.

Gayana Healy, 21, was struck by Tucker's car while walking on the sidewalk on the north side of Madison, between Fourth and Third avenues, suffered a broken pelvis. She was in satisfactory condition at Harborview.

The incident began about 11:45 a.m. Tucker apparently lost control of his car while heading west on Madison toward the waterfront and struck a car passing through the intersection of Madison and Seventh Avenue, Edwards said.

The car continued along Madison, cresting the steep hill at Sixth Avenue. Witnesses told police they saw the passenger in the car trying to press on the brake.

At the intersection at Fourth Avenue, Tucker's car struck a moving car as well as four parked cars on the south side of Madison. It then went across two lanes onto the north sidewalk between Fourth and Third avenues.

There, it struck Healy, who was walking down the hill, bounced off a tree and slammed into the side of the 1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza, shattering a one-inch thick crushed granite wall.

"Everybody in here just stood up and ran out there," said Michael Tran, whose Saigon Express restaurant emptied when the Lincoln came to rest across the street.

Madison Street was closed to traffic from Fifth to Third avenues for more than two hours as police conducted their investigation.

No charges are expected against Tucker because the accident was caused by a medical emergency, police said.