Floatplane crashes in Lakewood home’s driveway; 2 men rushed to hospitals
A floatplane carrying two men crashed Tuesday in the driveway of a Lakewood home, according to emergency responders. Officials said the men were transported to hospitals in critical condition.
Little information was immediately available about the incident. West Pierce Fire & Rescue deputy chief Hallie McCurdy said she was on her way to the crash scene in the 11200 block of Graystone Drive. A photo shared by the fire department showed the plane’s wreckage in some foliage in a house’s driveway.
McCurdy said one man was airlifted to a hospital, and the second was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Lakewood Police Department later said the men’s injuries weren’t life threatening. McCurdy said the homes near the crash did not appear to have been struck.
After the floatplane crashed, McCurdy said the aircraft quickly caught fire. The passenger got himself out, she said, but the pilot couldn’t free himself. The deputy fire chief said the owners of the home where the floatplane crashed came out and helped the passenger extract the pilot.
Gravelly Lake Drive was initially closed from Nyanza Road Southwest to Lake Steilacoom Drive, Lakewood police said on Twitter. The road was reopened to northbound traffic about an hour after fire crews first responded to the incident.
It’s unclear where the floatplane flew out of or where it was headed. The crash site is about a tenth of a mile south of the southern shore of Steilacoom Lake. Shortly before 2 p.m., West Pierce Fire & Rescue said in a tweet that Lakewood police were at the scene waiting for the National Transportation Safety Board to conduct its investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 1:04 PM.
