It’s not easy maneuvering in a city you’re not familiar with and if you trust GPS a little too much or just can’t comprehend how many feet it is too turn, then you can see how someone might accidentally make the wrong turn.
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However, a 70-year-old woman took this to a new level when she reportedly drove her SUV with Utah plates onto Seattle’s Sound Transit light rail tracks last night and continued for what witnesses described as a significant distance before becoming stranded on an elevated section near Mount Baker Station.
The incident happened around 6 p.m. and quickly brought light rail service to a halt. According to Sound Transit, the vehicle became stuck on the northbound tracks at Mount Baker Station, forcing officials to suspend portions of the 1 Line while emergency crews responded. Power to the tracks was shut off so the SUV could be safely removed.
Thankfully, no one was injured.
Video from the scene, which quickly spread across social media, shows the SUV sitting on the tracks as transit workers and first responders worked to resolve the situation. Seattle Fire officials said the driver was able to get out of the vehicle and was later transported to a hospital in stable condition. Transit service resumed around 9 p.m.
The obvious question many people had was: How did this happen?
According to witnesses quoted by local media, the driver said she was following directions from her GPS. Some social media users speculated that because portions of the light rail route run parallel to nearby streets, she may have mistaken the tracks for a roadway when making a turn.
Others found it hard to believe that someone could travel so far without realizing something was wrong. One Instagram commenter joked that the situation was “like that Office episode where Michael takes the GPS too literally and drives the rental car into the lake.” Another person wrote, “At what point did she realize this road is really narrow?”
While plenty of commenters found humor in the situation, others showed sympathy for the driver. One of the most popular comments praised the person filming the scene for not turning the woman into a viral spectacle. “Shout out to the person taking video for their kindness and compassion,” the commenter wrote. “After the driver gets out of the car they don’t film her so she doesn’t immediately become internet famous too.”
As strange as the incident sounds, it’s not the first time drivers have ended up somewhere they clearly weren’t supposed to be because of navigation apps. Over the years, motorists have followed GPS directions onto boat ramps, hiking trails, private property, airport service roads and even railroad tracks.
For travelers, it’s a reminder that while navigation apps are incredibly useful, they aren’t perfect.
Whether you’re driving a rental car in Italy, navigating the winding roads of Ireland, or simply trying to find your hotel after a long flight, it’s worth paying attention to what’s happening outside the windshield. If the road suddenly looks more like a train track than a street, it may be time to ignore the GPS.
In this case, the story ended without injuries and with little more than a transit headache for Seattle commuters.
