A confused 70-year-old driver followed GPS directions onto Seattle’s light rail tracks. The stranded vehicle shut down part of Sound Transit’s 1 Line for hours. Service resumed later that night, but the incident raises fresh concerns. Most of us have experienced confusion while trying to follow GPS directions. That said, very few end up in the kind of bind that one elderly woman did in Seattle on Tuesday. Police there say that she faithfully followed her GPS even as it led her onto an elevated light rail track. That choice was more than enough to bring the entire line to a screeching halt for hours. The incident happened Tuesday evening near Mount Baker Station, where the driver became stranded on Sound Transit’s 1 Line tracks. According to Seattle police, the woman appeared confused and told officers she had been following her GPS when she ended up on the rail line. It’s unclear which navigation system she was using, but regardless, things didn’t work out the way she’d hoped. More: Tesla On FSD Appears To Smash Through Railroad Gates As Train Approaches Bystanders caught the moments as the woman became stuck on the track. Despite not being equipped for any sort of on-rail/off-road duty, her Mazda CX-5 seemed surprisingly adept at maintaining traction until it appeared to slip off the rail itself. By the time emergency responders arrived, the woman had exited the car. Video, Photo Reddit / Groundbreaking_Net_3 She was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and was reported to be in stable condition. Police said she did not appear intoxicated. Instead, officers noted she was extremely confused and took an unusually long time to answer questions. According to KOMO News, the vehicle’s unexpected appearance on the tracks forced Sound Transit to suspend 1 Line service between SODO and Othello stations shortly after 6 p.m. Trains continued operating on unaffected portions of the route while shuttle buses were brought in to bridge the gap. Fortunately, the closure didn’t last all night. Mount Baker Station reopened just before 9 p.m., and by around 10:30 p.m., Sound Transit announced normal operations had resumed on both the 1 Line and 2 Line. Riders were still advised to expect residual delays as the system returned to schedule. Considering how badly this could’ve ended, the best news here is that everyone is okay.
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